#PlanningWhileBlack: Detroit Perspectives for Deepening Your Practice

Detroit is often described as a city of resilience, creativity, and reinvention. But for those who grew up there - particularly Black planners - it is more than a case study. Detroit is a lived experience, a crucible that shaped how they see, practice, and lead. This panel brings together Black practitioners with Detroit roots to share how navigating disinvestment, systemic racism, flooding basements, vacant land, and community-led innovation provided a unique lens for tackling planning challenges. Through storytelling and dialogue, see how professionals with Detroit roots transformed adversity into strengths: resilience, equity-centered problem solving, and bold creativity. These perspectives highlight the power of place and identity in shaping professional approaches, demonstrating how deeply rooted experiences equip planners to confront today's wicked problems with empathy and ingenuity. You're invited to reflect on your own roots and identity and consider how they shape your practice. By grounding planning in both place and people, Detroit's lessons offer a model for resilience, justice, and transformation that can be applied in communities everywhere.
Closed Captioning