On any given day, you can drive around Tallahassee and see new construction everywhere. Development is often an indication of a city’s success and growth. But who gets left behind in this progress, and how can urban planners work toward social and economic justice for every citizen?

Continuing Policy Pub’s focus on how national, even global, issues affect each of us right here at home, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Dr. April Jackson discussed the benefits and limitations to mixed-income housing plans in Chicago and Seattle and explored how local actors can work towards incorporating racial equity into planning for diverse communities. During the lively discussion, Dr. Jackson then discussed how some of these strategies can be adapted to mixed-income housing redevelopment efforts in Tallahassee.

Dr. Jackson’s research focuses on how professional planners and universities plan for, engage with, and train students to work in communities of color. More specifically, she examines the ways that new urbanism can be used to develop mixed-income communities, as well as how planning programs can integrate issues of diversity and cultural competence into curriculum and departmental culture.

The last Policy Pub of the 2019-2020 season will be March 10th. Dr James Wright’s pub is titled Perceptions or Reality? Body Cameras, Police Officers and Citizens. Learn more here.

Listen to Dr. Jackson’s Pub here.