Who is Planning My City?

In this blog, Deborah Broomfield, PhD student in Women in Planning at Leeds Beckett University shares her experiences of being a Black woman at university, property management and in the COVID-19 pandemic. She stresses the importance of understanding diverse communities to deliver better planning outcomes, especially for Black communities.

I remember during my MSc studies in Urban and Regional Planning, going to a field trip with the other students to a deprived inner-city area of Birmingham, which was one of our case studies.

The area as were many others; a legacy of the work of British civil engineer, Herbert Manzoni who was credited with wiping away the heritage of Birmingham. No doubt also wiping away communities. It was obvious from my observation, that Herbert also saw the car as more important than people.

As the students walked along the winding paths past desolate maisonettes and lonely tower blocks. One of the students described the area as sxxt. His friend commented with an air of contempt about residents not taking care of their homes and, took pleasure in picking the ones that she felt needed tidying up.

I often reflect on that experience, as I did not challenge them directly. I wanted to get through the course.

I am an older Black woman; these are the inner conflicts that we face. I also got on quite well with them and felt a mild sense of embarrassment and awkwardness, as I too live in a deprived inner-city area of Birmingham.

However, I did mention this experience to one of the lecturers who was the module lead. Not forgetting my observation of the lack of Black students on the course. I was one of five out of a total of seventy students. The module lead seemed surprised there were that many, I suppose I did say something. I remembered asking the question, who is planning my city?

Why did I start my blog with this experience? These two young white people are working as spatial planners, they also lived in a village and a gated community. I am not sure whether this is about colour or about disconnect. A similar point was mentioned to me during my MSc dissertation research, relating to the lack of awareness of planners about the communities that they are working with.

The individual I interviewed had met a few planners of colour but had not met any Black planners and what is more with lived experience.

Although I enjoyed my MSc studies. I realised that the curriculum, despite being well delivered was designed for accreditation and employment. Maybe it was the student’s responsibility to widen their horizons by asking why these residents did not tidy the exterior of their homes. To give the course leaders some credit, there was an attempt to introduce real life into the teaching. However, the understandable priority of most students will be employment. Also, is there something about the built environment education and employment process, that requires just enough and not to ask too many questions?

The killing of George Floyd in the U.S by police, but not forgetting all the other lives lost including that of Breonna Taylor, has unleashed a sense of fear and guilt in establishments in the UK. Discussions around racism are being revitalised. I say this because I have heard these discussions many times before.

We live in a diverse country in superdiverse neighbourhoods and I wonder at times, whether those who are employed to support neighbourhoods and develop place, truly understands how it all works. I suppose it takes time and experience.

I recall another experience when working in property management, which was at that time mainly male white and nepotistic. As a female surveyor you had to be "good looking” to be recruited. I worked in learning and development and heard surveyors commenting on the looks of female surveyors. A very senior manager spoke about a Black male surveyor colleague of mine who had dreadlocks. He also happened to like very nice cars. The manager commented while I was in the lift to his colleague, that this surveyor had changed his car again and must be selling drugs.

This is a stereotyped view that Black men who drive nice cars are dope peddlers. It was not that long ago, and I think that says it all.

Hopefully, recent events to include the Covid-19 pandemic will further alert the built environment industry, that work needs to be done to understand the superdiverse communities that live in the UK. Messages should be delivered that planning as an example, is a feasible career choice for a young person of colour and a white person from an area of deprivation. This needs to be done at school, all with the right support. I had examined in my MSc dissertation the question about there being a new type of planner, which is a topic I am hoping to further discuss in my doctorate studies. Authenticity and compassion should be additional competencies, but I suppose it is how we measure them. Boris Johnson and his government have communicated their intention to review the planning system. It will be of interest to see the outcome and the effects on diversity issues.