Change doesn’t happen accidentally. Who are the people shaping cities and communities through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond?
The world has changed in a lot of ways since Planetizen last surveyed readers to create a list of Most Influential Urbanists in 2017, and so has urbanism. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted existing problems faced by cities and communities, created new ones, and brought to light structural inequities and vulnerabilities we previously ignored.
Now more than ever, planning and its associated fields can play a crucial role in building healthier, more resilient, more equitable, and more sustainable cities. From public health advocates to housing reform activists, safe streets champions, and disability rights advocates, people from a wide range of communities and professional fields are challenging the status quo and demanding solutions to urban problems that create more equitable outcomes for all residents.
In 2017, we called on readers to nominate people from a broad range of disciplines as well as ethnicities and genders, but we recognize the list wasn’t sufficiently diverse. This time around, we want to further amplify the work and influence of communities of color, women, and the LGBTQI+ community in shaping cities and making them more inclusive, accessible, and safe and highlight the efforts of leaders and organizations that have catalyzed changes at every level of government. We hope our list can reflect the changing demographics of the planning field as well as the growing recognition that the built environment and public policy have significant, and often unequal, impacts on people and communities.
To submit your nominations, please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Influential Urbanists.” Please share this call widely with the communities you are part of. Also feel free to join the discussion with @planetizen and by using the #topurbanist hashtag on Twitter. We'll release the official results of the “Most Influential Urbanists” poll, and let the voting commence, during the last week of May.
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San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
City of Orange
City of Charlotte - Charlotte Area Transit
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
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