In the past few weeks of taking Social Issues in Urban and Regional Development at the University of New Mexico, the topic that impacted me the most was individual and social diversity. Diversity, as defined by Merriam Webster, is the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization. In one of the powerpoint presentations, it was said that here in America, diversity is immediately equated with race, which was interesting to me because it is true. We define our diversity by our ability to look around and see someone different than us. However, that is only diversity on the surface, which is undeniably important; the difference in ideas, points of view, and experiences bring a valuable element to discussions and decision making. Sharing that opinion or point of view can make people consider things from a different point of view. Most of us value diversity for the strength that it is; diversity in colleges has been used as an essential recruitment tool that is highlighted in brochures. The encouragement of diversity in planning is essential because planners decide what assets go where.

 

"Urbanism, with its changes in the values, mores, customs, and behaviors of a population, is often seen as one of the consequences of urbanization." (Palen, Page 9). This quote from the book was interesting to me because it reminded me of how cities are sometimes defined by their political standing, i.e., liberal& conservative towns and cities. It also raises an interesting point, are people attracted to places that align with there own beliefs, or are cities melded around the stances of the people that live there? Diversity and urbanization are two parts of a bigger picture. As the years go by, we are going to see more people living in cities, and those cities will likely have a higher diversity because people will be from different places. Part of the job of an urban planner is to foster inclusivity with their designs by designing cities that are more diverse, sustainable, and easy to access. Urban planners play an important role in increasing diversity in the cities that they help to shape.

 

Historically planners tried to separate the districts of cities based on social and economic status. This reminded me of gentrification and zoning today. Today still we see people that are marginalized through common practices like using master plans and zoning. People decide the value of a place, and then that zone is assigned a value. A zone determines what kind of business can be conducted there and thereby determines the value and the taxes of the area. Urban planning is, in some ways, a tricky profession because we have to know about the desires of the community or firm that we are serving while also trying our best not to make another group feel marginalized. Something like making use of empty space for apartment complexes and then charging a price that is expensive in comparison to the places around it is considered controversial.  More so when a developer buys an apartment building to remodel and update it simultaneously uprooting the people that already live there.

 

The issue of diversity is an important topic in today's climate because though public institutes like colleges endorse diversity in every way possible; there's something to be said about endorsing diversity while also being fair. We sometimes define towns as liberal or conservative and colleges as hubs for people that have like values. When we try to make an area more attractive to certain groups, like making an area that is more attractive to conservationists, we are isolating people that believe in developing the land. We have to acknowledge that where we plan to retrofit areas, we might be offending the people that already live there. Diversity in the world around us will always be an important topic and will always have little subtleties in it about the injustices of the actions of those who plan for advancement.

 

The reason this topic impacted me personally is that the concept of diversity as being beyond the physical differences was something I'd unknowingly been engaging in; by having people in my life that had different viewpoints. However, I think diversity in everyday life can include a company making makeup in 30 different shades and medicine catered to more susceptible groups. I believe this shift in behavior at the corporate level reflects how the general public has started to crave more diversity, the public no longer sees a lack of diversity as acceptable, and I believe we as planners will be benefited by diversification of ideas. I believe it's important that urban planners account and plan for these shifts ahead of time so that they can stay ahead of the curb.