New Talk: 'Urban Development as Freedom Practice'
I had a wonderful time preparing for and speaking at the Providence Athenaeum this week. My one hour talk and salon, ‘Urban Development as Freedom Practice,’ gave me the chance to share what I have learned about culture and the role of institutionalized racism in the practice and pedagogy of urban planning and design. Building on ideas that so many brilliant people have shared with me, I discussed my own experience as a white woman and the investigation I have begun into whiteness; the cultural values and norms taught to me/us in our field that uphold oppression, and shared examples of people who are doing the work to create new norms and ways of being and working while re-building their neighborhoods. Thank you to the Providence Athenaeum (and the Richard and Barbara Bell Fund for Social Justice), the Providence Preservation Society, and everyone who came out for a great dialogue. I am especially grateful for those I have been fortunate enough to learn with and from about this. Please find an audio recording and cited works here.
