First and foremost, we stand with the millions of Black Americans and allies across the country fighting for racial justice and equality. The murder of Mr. George Floyd is only the latest example of America’s structural racism. We cannot build inclusive cities until we confront this reality.
We’re going to recommit to elevating the voices of people of color on this show, not just on today’s episode, but on all our platforms from now on. In that spirit, today’s format is slightly different.
In the first segment [3:41-9:08], hosts Eric Jaffe and Vanessa Quirk discuss Bryan Lee Jr.’s great piece on how urban planners can help build cities that are more just. (CityLab) https://bit.ly/2MAj9aG
In the second segment [9:08-14:13], the hosts read quotes from a handful of other compelling perspectives shared this week:
– “We often call on technology to help solve problems. But when society defines, frames, and represents people of color as “the problem,” those solutions often do more harm than good.” — Charlton McIlwain, MIT Tech Review https://bit.ly/2MuKJWC
– “So when we get into these Vision Zero plans, often we talk like we’re doing people a favor; we’re making streets safe! But then, in practice, we just use Vision Zero approaches to laser in on minor infractions in a way that hurts communities.” — Kristen Jeffers, Streetsblog https://bit.ly/2z4SZcK
– “As we call people to peace but not to patience, we should not be patient with the structural inequities and racism and microaggressions, and certainly not with the legal or court precedents or the obstacles in police-union contracts all over the country, that prevent us from holding people accountable when this happens.” — Mayor Melvin Carter, New Yorker https://bit.ly/2Y8dMob
– “So, to white people who care about maintaining a habitable planet, I need you to become actively anti-racist. I need you to understand that our racial inequality crisis is intertwined with our climate crisis. If we don’t work on both, we will succeed at neither.” — Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, WaPo https://wapo.st/3cFxVr0
In the third segment [14:31-26:14] the hosts chat with Chicago-based urban planner and author of the Corner Side Yard blog, Pete Saunders, about the history of urban policing http://cornersideyard.blogspot.com/
And in the final segment [26:18 – 28:26], the hosts share what made them smile this week.
– 8 police policy changes that together could decrease police violence by 72% https://8cantwait.org/
– Deeply Rooted Heritage podcast’s first episode, which spotlights the Finding Kenyon Barr exhibit https://spoti.fi/3h0U5r0
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