A letter signed by over 600 planners calls on the American Planning Association to advocate for fundamental police reforms, in other words, to defund the police.

"A group of several hundred urban planners is calling for the largest U.S. planning organization to support defunding the police," reports Brentin Mock.
Eight authors originally wrote the letter, sending it to the American Planning Association on July 24 with 525 signatures. That total has increased to just under 650 signatures as of this writing.
"While this kind of reform may seem in the purview of criminal justice policymakers, the planners lay out in a letter to the American Planning Association how neighborhoods that were racially segregated by a range of planning policies have become further denigrated by police violence and harassment of Black people — and that planners have done little historically to help change this dynamic," explains Mock of the motivations of the letter.
Mock provides examples from the letter for specifics of examples of how policing and planning intersect:
One example they provide is Vision Zero initiatives, which aim to reduce or eliminate traffic fatalities. Despite their good intentions, the programs “rely on police-led enforcement and may inadvertently direct additional resources to police.” The letter also points to how transit planners have deployed transit police “who notoriously harass riders of color over fee evasion,” and housing planners who’ve ignored how policing contributes to gentrification despite pledged support for affordable housing.
Planetizen has been tracking the debate about policing as it relates to planning since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis sparked protests around the country earlier this year.
- Violence Against Black Americans a Moment of Reckoning for the Planning Profession (June 1, 2020)
- Making Space for the 'Invisible Cyclists' in Post-Pandemic Transportation Planning (June 2, 2020)
- How Emergency Street Redesign Projects Fell Short of the Black Lives Matter Cause (June 9, 2020)
- Vision Zero...Without the Enforcement (June 11, 2020)
- Anti-Racism at the Neighborhood Level (June 24, 2020)
- Anti-Racist Reforms for the Urban Planning Status Quo (June 24, 2020)
- Pandemic Planning Must Reconcile With the Inequities of the Past (July 21, 2020)
The calls for planners to be more effective allies for an anti-racist agenda continue.
FULL STORY: The City Planners' Case for Defunding the Police

The Slow Death of Ride Sharing
From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.

Cool Walkability Planning
Shadeways (covered sidewalks) and pedways (enclosed, climate controlled walkways) can provide comfortable walkability in hot climates. The Cool Walkshed Index can help plan these facilities.

Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.

How San Diego Camping Ban Could Impact Neighborhoods
An ordinance supported by the city’s mayor would bar people from sleeping on the street near shelters or services, but critics say it will simply push people to other neighborhoods and put them farther away from the supportive services they need.

Expanding Access to Golf in South Los Angeles
L.A. County’s Maggie Hathaway Golf Course getting up to $15 Million from U.S. Open Community Legacy Project to expand access to the sport in South L.A.

Opinion: Failed Housing Bills Could Signal California-Style Housing Crisis in Texas
Legislators in a state that so often touts its policies as the opposite of California’s defeated several bills that would have made housing construction easier, leading to concerns that a constricted housing market may exacerbate the housing crisis.
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Bangor
Park City Municipal Corporation
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.