Lauren Hood, Chair of the Detroit Planning Commission and a nationally known urban planner, spoke about the ways in which planners, civic leaders, and activists in Detroit are organizing around the idea of reparations for the damage caused by driving urban freeways through urban communities, with I-375 as the initial target for action. Rosa Lopez, Reconnect South Park Organizer, and Madeleine Spencer, a leader of Placemaking US, described the project to restore Seattle’s South Park community, which was divided by State Highway 99.
Creating great urban neighborhoods and taking action for environmental justice go hand in hand. This panel discussed that crucial connection and ways we can envision and attain just and sustainable future cities.
Lauren Hood, Rosa Lopez, and Madeleine Spencer spoke on March 9, 2023 at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Their conversation, "Reconnecting Communities: Undoing Institutional Racism in Urban Highway Projects," was the Professionals Council Winter Quarter Lecture presented by the Department of Urban Design and Planning.