Confronting 'race' in the built environment profession
This week, we are delighted to have Harpriya Chaggar contribute an important blog about confronting race in the built environment. Harpriya completed her MSc in Urban Design and City Planning at UCL, The Bartlett School of Planning. In her final year, Harpriya’s projects focused on the significance of ethnic minorities in building healthy, sustainable communities. Using her thesis, she confronts the challenges in discussing ‘race’ in the built environment industry and how this has had major limitations on the quality of life for BIPoC communities.
The demand for racial and social justice has become more prominent than ever, as the escalation of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement this summer and COVID-19 disparities have positioned the lives of ethnic minorities as disregarded. The vast differences in livelihoods of deprived Black Indigenous People of Colour (BIPoC) communities and white affluent communities is alarming. While academic studies and government official documents touch on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in some shape or form, the barrier in truly confronting the challenges facing aspiring BIPoC individuals acquires further analysis. The importance of the built environment in facilitating racial equality is tremendous, as the built environment is founded on the shaping of communities.
Terminology is essential as part of this discussion, as we should collectively understand that there is no one size fits all when referring to groups of ethnic minorities, as individuals identify themselves in different ways. The continued use of ‘race’ in apostrophes highlights the detachment the term has on who it defines, alternatively ‘race’ should be viewed as a social construct (Chattoo, Atkins, Craig and Flynn, 2012).
The use of BIPoC, referring to ethnic minorities experiencing inequality has been suggested to be more inclusive and exhibits the intersectionality between multi ethnic groups. BIPoC shifts the narrative of these individuals at the ‘forefront of the dialogue’ and helps to classify ethnic groups by not only family birth origin but also individual story (Farseli and Vootkur, 2020).
Such terminology is relatively new in UK context. In this instance, social media has provided great insight on the importance of change in vocabulary as the current transformative period bares the conversation to be consciously in a pursuit to not leave anyone behind.
The research discussed in this article comes from my Master’s thesis, which sought to answer how structural racism denies planning objectives in improving the livelihood of BIPoC communities? Evidently, what became most apparent is the absence of BIPoC professionals in positions of agency, the deterrent in the education system that limits the skills pool for ethnic minorities, and the connotations present in language and behaviours that initiate continued actions of unconscious racial bias’. In the interviews that formed this research, words such as ‘degrading’, ‘demoralising’ and ‘exclusionary’ referred to the severity of the working circumstances for BIPoC and how this immediately dampens opportunities available to progress.
There is sensitivity in using the term 'Black' as a way to identify an individual of Black origin... Diversity should be celebrated, not disguised.
The richness in the data collected is partly owed to my personal identification; being a Punjabi woman in the built environment sector, the shared connection between myself and participants allowed the conversations to be organic, supporting the comfortability ethnic minorities have when given the opportunity to openly discuss ‘race’ amongst other ethnic minorities. These discussions exposed the emotions and manners linked with being a Person of Colour (PoC) in an industry which is mostly populated with white middle-aged men, and how unconscious and conscious attitudes mould the atmosphere. An example of this is the alleged sensitivity around using the term ‘Black’ as a way to identify an individual of Black origin, further demonstrating the unacceptance of unfamiliar cultures and supports this impression of colour blindness that suggests it’s offensive to identify someone as how they see themselves, i.e. Black. Diversity should be celebrated, not disguised.
Many of the participants experienced working in diverse London Boroughs, where there had often been one of two scenarios; 1. Exclusive atmosphere where authoritative figures were formed of senior white staff. 2. Sense of division between ethnic minority colleagues who hold negative assumptions of specific minority neighbourhoods. Emphasising, although a densely diverse city, London is very much a patchwork arrangement where the quality of diversity is slightly misinterpreted, and often concentrated to particular areas, which blurs the vision of D&I that should be adhered to. Thus, diminishing the value of diversity and its impact in making structural change.
... Senior colleagues bestow their trust to those who look like their children... PoC have to maximise their efforts to break into the industry.
It is implied detachment is rooted in the hiring process; familiarity is a significant attribute in limiting BIPoC prosperity, as interviewees shared when you do not physically represent your employer you often miss out. One participant viewed work place relationships as ‘parental’, where senior colleagues bestow their trust to those who look like their children. Such environments have built this recognition in PoC where they are aware their work efforts must be maximised to break through in the industry. Interviewees emphasised the acceptance of understanding why such stigmas are in place, allowing individuals to achieve the best from their circumstance. The mutual understanding between participants is that in order to move forward there should be a shared mindset to overcome oppression. Along this lies personal conflict around falling into stereotypes and fulfilling cultural identity, as BIPoC professionals try to promote the best image of themselves. For ethnic minorities, portraying work place professionalism goes deeper than acting in a proficient manner, it extends to ‘code switching’ and the requirement to adopt a new ‘vernacular’.
Supporting the research into power of BIPoC influence in the built environment, my study also queried the outputs of the industry, showing how under representation sacrifices the quality of the built environment and ultimately causes cases of environmental racism. Through research I found there has been significant neglect in labelling cases of environmental racism as environmental injustice, validating the colour blindness present in the UK. The persistent use of injustice in place of racism denies the severity of environmental racism to BIPoC communities, emphasising the apparent discomfort when discussing ‘race’. The covert behaviour in addressing environmental racism in the UK further demonstrates the inability to admit ‘inequality’ often translates to ‘structural racism’.
Spatial inequalities are a matter of social injustice, and in order to achieve social justice, power distribution needs to be evaluated.
In order to move forward with genuine aspirations of inclusivity, a holistic approach across sectors should be adopted. The weight given to built environment practitioners in perpetuating racial equality should not go underestimated. There is urgent need to unite thinking across sectors, undertaking what is understood as ‘inclusive’ and how BIPoC employees are valuable, not based on skin colour, but by experiences and knowledge of cultural diversity. Spatial inequalities are a matter of social injustice, and in order to achieve social justice, power distribution needs to be evaluated.
Ultimately the ambition should be focused on decolonising the system and its components that establish and maintain structural racism. Structural racism seeps through education, policy, and employment, all of which play a role in facilitating how individuals navigate through life and prosper. Now in the wake of BLM protests, there mustn’t be a silence over achieving racial and social justice. The removal of monuments was the beginning, however such actions are face value. Carmona emphasises that the aesthetics play a small part in place quality and value, and so although tearing down Edward Colston’s statue shows action, results should be directed in improving the health, wellbeing and prosperity of BIPoC communities (Rydin and Carmona, 2019). As a generation, we may not live the results of the change we seek. However, Gen Z should be acknowledged for their mindful thinking and how they will influence the way change evolves.