Planning for Power: Leading Communities in Planning Processes – Examples from Pittsburgh and Allentown
Meaningful, inclusive public engagement is critical to achieve resilient, equitable, and inclusive communities that are livable for all. On March 9th, planners from the City of Pittsburgh, Allentown PA, and evolve environment + architecture presented at a webinar hosted by the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) on planning approaches that aim to re-establish trust and level the playing field to co-create actionable, transparent, and equitable plans alongside communities. New approaches are necessary to help establish enforceable ground rules for developers, employers, and public agencies coming into a community. Particularly when markets switch from disinvestment to growth, equitable, transparent planning influenced by an informed, engaged resident base allows change to happen with, rather than to, a community.
The webinar is part of a series leading up to PCRG’s 11th Annual Community Development Summit being held virtually from May 25-26, 2021 with the focus of [Re]Defining Equity, Equality, and Justice in Community Development (more information about the summit here).
The presenters provided examples of planning practices that bolstered public trust, addressed equity issues, and improved planning outcomes, these included:
Hannah Clark, AICP (formerly of City of Allentown, now with Michael Baker International) and evovleEA’s Ashley Cox, EcoDistricts AP shared how Allentown’s Vision 2030 Community Planning Strategy helped ensure that in a now majority-minority city that is continuing to grow, the city’s residents are fully part of the comprehensive planning and implementation process;
City of Pittsburgh Neighborhood Planners Ose Akinlotan and Sophia Robison provided an overview of the Public Engagement Guide and how that process, alongside innovations in virtual engagement due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, helped communities co-create engagement goals and establish equity and transparency standards between themselves and the City on specific planning endeavors;
evolveEA strategic principal Christine Mondor, FAIA provided an overview of evolveEA’s Community Engagement Strategy Deck, which provides over thirty activities to gain knowledge of complex issues while sharing community expertise.
