Black, Female and In Placemaking. What is it like?
Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.
As part of our #BlackHistoryMonth coverage, we are pleased to have Deborah Broomfield contribute for us again. Here, Deborah shares very candidly about the realities of being a Black woman on placemaking. Although COVID-19 has started an important conversation this year, she thinks we need to go further to create a truly inclusive industry.
It is Black History Month and what a year it has been. I feel like I have been placed in a scene of a science fiction, farcical movie and not knowing when my part in the film may end. We have COVID-19 to deal with plus, endless discussions around race and diversity and what institutions and society need to do to improve the environment. Although discussions are necessary and there are debates and levels of participation, which are perhaps more than in previous years, it saddens me that they are still going on.
I am a recent masters graduate in Urban and Regional Planning and in the very early stages of doctoral studies in Women and Planning at Leeds Beckett University. I have come into placemaking from a varied previous career to include the property world. I also live in inner-city Birmingham and on the receiving end of planning policy and placemaking decisions. This combination I believe helps me to view the world of placemaking through a different and what has been described, as an interesting lens.
What is it like to be Black, female and in placemaking?
'I attract a level of curiosity from all races as to my reasons for choosing urban planning and my subject of study... It is a challenge to know who to speak to and where to go for support.'
It is an interesting journey from my own experience. I attract a level of curiosity from all races as to my reasons for choosing urban planning and my subject of study. Some say it is interesting. Others do not know what spatial planning is, does and should achieve. I also feel a bit on the outside as professions in the built environment can be a club, let us not forget still predominantly male and white. Although more women and BAME groups are moving into the area, there is a lack of diversity in terms of the kinds of people (not just in racial terms) that planning attracts and supports through existing professional systems. It is a challenge to know who to speak to and where to go for support.
It is great to see groups like BAME in Property, BAME in Planning and Black Females in Architecture exist. However, further support is needed for people who enter the area with significant other experience. This includes recognising the work and expertise through greater collaboration with community led urbanists, who may not have accredited planning degrees but are doing the work.
COVID-19 has accelerated some great discussions around what the future of place should and will look like. They are interesting and exciting conversations. I hope that these visions will live up to being inclusive, and not be unaffordable in terms of implementation within marginalised communities. An obvious example is having suitable living environments and equity in where they are created. The involvement of the voices that will live in and benefit from these visions need to be increased, which the planning profession is appearing to understand. However, the challenge remains and I hope we can move forward with a vision that benefits everyone.