Emphasize Confidence in Black Women, Adhere to Guidance from Black Women
Black History Month serves as a reminder not only to celebrate the achievements of Black people in various fields but also to address the ongoing challenges faced by Black women in transportation and urban planning.
Black women in the transportation sector, particularly in urban planning, encounter numerous hurdles, including systemic exclusion, lack of representation, and environments shaped by patriarchal and racial biases that overlook their specific needs. This is largely due to urban planning practices historically centred on a stereotypical user profile (white, able-bodied, middle-income men), resulting in urban spaces and transportation systems that fail to adequately address the mobility, safety, and accessibility needs of Black women.
Key challenges include systemic exclusion and internalized blame, gendered and racialized violence and safety concerns, and lack of inclusive design and planning. Black women often feel isolated and blame themselves when confronting barriers in these fields, indicating a lack of supportive community spaces and structural advocacy. They experience higher vulnerability to violence, which impacts their well-being and requires transport systems and urban spaces to prioritize their safety. Mainstream urban planning overlooks intersectional perspectives, marginalizing Black women's experiences and needs in transportation and urban environments.
To create more inclusive spaces for Black women in urban planning and transportation, several strategies emerge. These include community engagement and participatory research, safe spaces and support networks, applying feminist urbanism principles, and policy and institutional reforms. By centring Black women's voices in planning decisions, ensuring their lived experiences inform transportation design and policy, and creating policies that mandate diversity and equity, we can design equitable, accessible transport systems and urban spaces.
Black women are not only crucial in addressing issues like housing unaffordability, economic mobility, access to quality healthcare and education, and climate change, but they are also at the forefront of creating change. When Black women leave the transportation space, everyone loses, as they play a crucial role in combating the climate crisis.
Leaders like Tamika Butler, a renowned figure in urban planning, write about the need for Black women in creating equitable transportation. Butler, who served as the former executive director of the Los Angeles Bike Coalition, often found herself in transportation meetings with people who did not look like her. She recalls feeling out of place at her first transportation conference due to lack of diversity.
However, Butler has since turned her experiences into opportunities to support queer students and students of colour interested in planning, climate, and transportation. A young Black woman recently emailed Butler for advice on post-graduation plans in climate change and transportation, and Butler is now making a mentor out of the Black woman she met at a conference.
Despite the challenges, Black women continue to break barriers and pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable future in transportation and urban planning. Black people, particularly Black women, are more likely to be concerned and less likely to be dismissive about climate change, making them key allies in the fight against climate change. Black people are also disproportionately impacted by lack of transportation access and services, environmental racism, and climate change, emphasizing the urgency for their inclusion in these discussions.
Moya Bailey coined the term "misogynoir" to describe the specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed toward Black women. This term underscores the unique struggles Black women face in predominantly white spaces. Planning, like many other industries, has a "whiteness problem": 80% of city and regional planners are white. Black women in urban planning are often hired to work on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in addition to their other duties, further highlighting the need for systemic change.
In conclusion, fostering inclusion requires systemic change in institutional culture, design practices, and community engagement approaches to address the intersecting oppressions faced by Black women in transportation-related urban planning. By centring Black women's voices and experiences, we can create more equitable, accessible, and safe urban spaces and transportation systems for all.
The newsletter can highlight the ongoing challenges faced by Black women in transportation and urban planning, emphasizing the need for systemic change and inclusive practices.
Articles in a magazine could explore the unique roles Black women play in climate change activism and transportation reform, showcasing their contributions and experiences.
Urban planning courses and education-and-self-development programs could incorporate discussions on diversity, equity, and intersectionality to address the unjust treatment of Black women in the field.
The community can support Black women in urban planning by advocating for safe spaces and resources, promoting their work, and amplifying their voices in the climate, culture, casino-and-gambling, and sports sectors.
Weather reports can be more sensitive to the safety concerns and unique mobility needs of Black women in urban environments, prioritizing their well-being in transportation and urban planning decisions.
