Urban Community Development: Planning for Justice and Growth

Introduction: Balancing Competing Community Priorities

The future of community development depends on the effective integration of social, economic, and environmental imperatives. When two or more of these key issues conflict, the community faces tough challenges in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, social, economic, and environmental issues frequently conflict, often leading to ineffective urban planning policies. Almost every social institution plays a key role in alleviating community problems, including schools, criminal justice systems, and social service agencies. Activist organizations and private institutions also have a strong bearing on shaping or influencing community policies and often reflect the interests of minority and disenfranchised community members.

Urban governments, although run by elected officials, cannot possibly represent all community members. Protecting the rights of minority groups can prevent social unrest and ensure social justice. The breadth of issues facing urban planners, developers, policymakers, and residents requires skillful allocation of funds, effective communication, and creativity.

Social Justice, Race, and Poverty in Urban Planning

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Creating justice in the modern American community entails eliminating racism from all social institutions. Law enforcement remains plagued by issues related to race, which has a bearing on response rates, the proximity of law enforcement officials and offices within the community, arrest rates, and prosecutorial procedures. Preventing and healing race-related problems in law enforcement involves a multifaceted approach that begins with increasing awareness of racial issues at all levels of training and education.

Poverty and race are often inextricably linked, affecting the daily lives of individual community members and creating vicious cycles of oppression and disenfranchisement. Children who grow up poor often experience discrimination regardless of their ethnic background. One of the most fundamental features of effective urban development programs is the stimulation of local economies through small business development.

Economic Development: Housing, Small Business, and Entrepreneurship

In addition to investing more resources in local small business development, community planners must ensure adequate housing for low-income families and individuals. At the same time, communities thrive economically when investors are welcomed to redevelop underused land for higher-end housing. Ideally, urban centers should represent all income groups, subsidizing housing for lower-income individuals so that they can free up their hard-earned income, consume more local goods, stimulate the local economy, and achieve greater social mobility.

Rather than welcoming chain stores with poor reputations for employee relations, urban planners should invest in government-funded programs that stimulate entrepreneurship. Small business development also needs to center on encouraging more women and minority entrepreneurs, because these groups suffer most from poverty and disenfranchisement. Poverty breeds apathy, and apathy breeds disorganized communities and problems related to community safety. Urban planners must view projects like parks, community centers, and general beautification as sound investments. When residents — especially young residents — view their neighborhoods as welcoming and pleasant places, they are more likely to contribute back to the community.