Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Events

The Department of Urban Design & Planning is hosting Equity Week during the third week of Autumn quarter, October 11-15, 2021. While themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion will be relevant throughout courses and throughout the year, this week will stand out as a time for students, faculty, and staff to engage in substantive dialogue together. Courses may highlight readings, lessons, activities, and discussion, according to the individual classes, and events are being planned for the week and throughout the year.
In preparation for this week, we recommend reading the Department’s Common Book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. You can read more about the book, and how to get a copy here.

Past UDP EDI Events 2020/2021

Final Social Justice Social Hour Monday, May 24 2021

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee have continued to facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the year. We hope to discuss these topics more generally while using the built environment as one of many lenses. For our final conversation of the 2020-21 academic year, we recommend reviewing the Diversity Plan for the Department of Urban Design and Planning. Your reactions, thoughts, and ideas will be invaluable as the EDI Committee strategizes for a more inclusive UDP in years to come.

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, May 3, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will continue facilitating informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics this quarter. We hope to discuss these topics more generally while using the built environment as one of many lenses. For this conversation, we will discuss the article We Need to Talk About Digital Blackface in Reaction GIFs by Lauren Michele Jackson.

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Small Group Discussion on Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/91978983063

Social Justice Social Hour, April 20, 2021, 5:00 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will continue facilitating informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics this quarter. We hope to discuss these topics more generally while using the built environment as one of many lenses.For this conversation, we will discuss This is Environmental Racism by Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis.

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 7:30 p.m.

You can watch Dr. Ibram X. Kendi speak on Ted, or share space with him locally during the Seattle Arts and Lecture Series event on April 7, 2021 at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale, with discounts available for students!

REGISTER

Social Justice Social Hour, April 6, 2021, 5:00 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will continue facilitating informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics this quarter. We hope to discuss these topics more generally while using the built environment as one of many lenses.For this conversation, we will discuss It’s Time to Reckon with the History of Asian Women in America by Durba Mitra, Sara Kang, and Genevieve Clutario.
Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, Feb 23, 2021, 5:00 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the school year. For this conversation, we will discuss the article Carnival, Blackness, and the Precarity of Public Safety by Sharine Taylor. “The role of Carnivals in nourishing public health, cultural vitality and Black liberation.”

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, Feb 9, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the school year. For this conversation, we will discuss the article The Sanctuary of Black Spaces in Seattle by Nikkita Oliver.
Deleted: Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, Jan 26, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the school year. For this conversation, we will discuss the article “Safe Streets” Are Not Safe for Black Lives by Destiny Thomas

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, Jan 12, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the school year. For this conversation, we would like to create a space to digest and reflect upon the recent insurrection of the US Capitol. We welcome any discussion, although participants are recommended to read The Capitol Riot Was an Attack on Multiracial Democracy by Adam Serwer in preparation

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

UW Events During MLK Week : Jan 12- 16 2021

Many events have gone virtual in 2021, but there are still plenty of ways to mark the MLK Day holiday this year!
https://www.washington.edu/mlkweek/events/

Social Justice Social Hour, Dec 3, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race, intersectionality, equity, and related topics throughout the school year. For this conversation, we will discuss two short articles about the oft-misunderstood history of Thanksgiving and what can be done to acknowledge its entanglement with White colonization.

The Vicious Reality Behind the Thanksgiving Myth by David J. Silverman

Healing From Colonization on Thanksgiving and Beyond by Edegar Villanueva & Hilary Giovale

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the article. We want you part of this important conversation!

Social Justice Social Hour, November 19, 2020, 5:00-6:00 p.m.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will facilitate informal small group discussions about race and equity throughout the school year. For this conversation, we will use the Common Book, How to Be an Antiracist, as a lens to discuss the article Raising a Black Son in the US by Jesyman Ward.

Students, faculty, staff, and local planning and design professionals are encouraged to participate, even if you haven’t read the book or article. We want you part of this important conversation!

EDI Challenges & Opportunities in the City of Seattle, November 19, 2020, 6:30-7:30

Four City of Seattle employees will talk about their roles and how they address the impacts of institutional and structural racism in local government planning. We have:

    • Lauren Flemister, Community Planning Manager at the Office of Planning and Community Development
    • Jessica Gomez, Strategic Advisor of Policy and Equitable Development at the Office of Housing
    • Steve Hamai, Senior Racial Equity Advisor, Environmental Justice and Service Equity Division at Seattle Public Utilities
    • Ben Han, Program and Policy Specialist, Public Space Management/Street Use at Seattle’s Department of Transportation

 

 PhD Research Seminar , November 10, 2020, 12:30- 1:20 p.m.

The PhD Research Seminar is a bi weekly gathering of the UDP PhD students. This week they are welcoming in the larger community to hear UDP Associate Professors Dan Abramson and Rachel Berney discuss their research as seen through the EDI lens.

Presenter: Dan Abramson, Associate Professor (faculty page)
Title: Broadening Participation and Including Multiple Worldviews in Planning Research: Its Importance for Resilience

Presenter: Rachel Berney, Associate Professor (faculty page)

Title: Bending the Arc of Justice in Urban Design

Planning in Color | Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 5:30 p.m. -6:45 p.m.

As part of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Week, the CBE EDI Committee would like to invite you to join us for a presentation and panel discussion with Planning In Color on Tuesday, October 27 at 5:30 p.m.

Planning in Color is a member organization for planners of color consisting of professionals across the planning space. The organization was established in 2018, bringing together a group of planners of color passionate about driving positive social change within the planning profession and the communities in which planning serves. In the last two years, they have grown to a network of over 50 members that operate in the public, private, and non-profit sectors across a range of planning fields and allied disciplines, including architecture, urban design, transportation, housing, education, public policy, and engineering.

Planning in Color envisions an equitable future for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by planning policies and practices. Their mission is to create a platform for planners of colors to tackle these disparities in areas of the field that traditionally have not been inclusive and diverse.

The panel will consist of various Planning in Color members and organizers, including former MUP students. We encourage you to email any questions you would like to ask the panelists prior to the event, to Samara Ressler at sressler(at)uw.edu, but we will also have opportunities to ask questions in real time during the events.

 PhD Research Seminar , October 27, 2020, 12:30- 1:20 p.m.

The PhD Research Seminar is a bi weekly gathering of the UDP PhD students. This week they are welcoming in the larger community to hear UDP Associate Professors Christine Bae and Manish Chalana discuss their research as seen through the EDI lens

Presenter 1: Christine Bae, Associate Professor (Faculty Page)

Title: Equity Impact of Seattle’s Light Rail Station Areas

Presenter 2: Manish Chalana, Associate Professor (Faculty Page)

Title: Decolonizing Historic Preservation

Common Book Discussions October 26, 2020, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. AND Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m./strong>

The Department of Urban Design & Planning is pleased to present this year’s Common Book, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, as a launchpad for conversations about race and equity.

In his memoir, Kendi weaves together a combination of ethics, history, law and science to reshape the conversation about racial justice in America. He helps us rethink our most deeply held, if implicit, beliefs and challenges us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.
Deleted: We hope this book will stimulate personal reflection and group discussion about equity, diversity, and inclusion during EDI week and throughout the school year.

A few self-reflection questions to consider in preparation for EDI week group discussions:

    • What is the first step you, personally, will take in striving to be an antiracist? How will you check yourself and hold yourself accountable if you notice you, or someone else, is being racist?
    • What are your own perceptions of race and how will you prepare yourself to challenge your beliefs moving forward?
    • How does your identity provide or prevent access to necessary resources?
    • How does your power and privilege show up as a student, educator, administrator, or everyday member of society?
    • How have you had conversations about racism and antiracism with friends and family?

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in the following small group discussions via Zoom. These sessions will be facilitated and loosely follow a predetermined set of questions, although any dialogue about racism will be invaluable for our University. For those who have not started or finished the book—no worries! We still want you to be part of this important discussion.
Additional Resources:

EDI Week: October 26-30, 2020

The Department of Urban Design & Planning is hosting our first Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Week in week five of autumn quarter, October 26-30. While themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion will be present throughout these courses, and throughout the year, this week will stand out as a time for students, faculty, and staff to engage in substantive dialogue together across curricula, and outside of the classroom. Courses will highlight readings, lessons, and activities. Multiple events will be hosted throughout the week, details below.

In preparation for this week, we recommend reading the Department’s Common Book, How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi. You can read more about why we chose this Common Book, and how to get a copy here.