February 20, 2021 AZAPA Webblast

ASU STUDENT PLANNING ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 20, 2021
PLANNING WITH THE URBAN
COMMUNITY
BY: JOHNATHAN GATES
www.linkedin.com/in/johnathan-gates
Photo by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona Magazine © 2010
Planning is a complex practice that has become heavily influenced by politics and has
historically formed how the profession executes community development. The process in which urban
planning takes place has a deep history of neglecting and harming the communities it is intended to
serve. These communities include people of color, low-income neighborhoods, minority groups, and
many more. Infamous government statutes like the National Housing Act of 1934 enabled the practice
limiting access to housing finance known as redlining. Policies like such have been effective in
creating a negative impact on how our communities are shaped today. When the planning, design,
and development process persist without the community in mind there are socioeconomic factors that
arise. Through political conflict and poor planning, we have seen the people suffer from the urban
issues of job accessibility, public health, and loss of generational wealth. Concentrating on the City of
Phoenix we can begin to understand the losses of the often-disenfranchised neighborhoods.
When I moved to Phoenix to study planning, I realized it was essential to become aware of
how the city developed. The ASU faculty publication,The Geography of Despair: Environmental
Racism and the Making of South Phoenix, Arizona, USA, deeply shaped my thinking. Since its
founding, South Phoenix has been home to predominantly black and brown neighborhoods that have
been shaped and impacted by a broad range of measures including segregation and racial control
that remain in the city's structure today (Bolin, Grineski, Collins, 2005). Early in the city’s history, there
were policies and land use plans that would place minority residents alongside industrial districts in
South Phoenix. The area would become underrepresented in politics, described in the media as an
unattractive, minority filled working class community. This part of Phoenix became unfit for new
business and affluent residents. Industrialization continued to expand in the south because of the lack
of zoning regulations and cheap land. By the late 1800’s, the central city railroad would divide the
upper middle class in the north from the minority and working class in the south. This explicit design
decision became known as “Sunbelt apartheid.” As the two communities grew further apart, wealthy
residents in the north benefited from the Salt River Project and the urban trolley transportation
system. Both advantages lead to an increase in land value and urban development for the area.

ASU STUDENT PLANNING ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 20, 2021
Meanwhile, South Phoenix lacked the use of city services and land use regulations. The low land
value in South Phoenix was appealing to the industrial expansion, which then continued the
environmental blight in residential areas alongside the industries (Bolin, Grineski, Collins, 2005). In
the city's growth, we can see the historical patterns that have further separated the privileged from the
deteriorated neighborhoods of South Phoenix.
As a result, the overlooked and underfunded neighborhoods would suffer from a lack of
accessibility. Public policy on land use and transportation is often influenced by politics, and hardly
ever supports accessibility as a whole. Low income communities often become isolated from
essential resources that include health, education, sanitation, transportation, and emergency
services. Consequently, the conditions of the area would worsen with unregulated emissions, lack of
water and proper sewage treatment. These limitations placed on accessibility reinforce the systematic
issues that deprive marginalized communities leading to high levels of poverty and exclusion. When
communities face these disadvantages, sustainable development goals become more challenging to
meet. Phoenix has strived to become a sustainable city, the initiative requires addressing poverty and
hunger, public services, promoting clean energy, climate change, economic growth, as well as other
important resolutions. The new initiatives will shape the valley as a whole, but should focus on
improving vulnerable communities.
Today, South Phoenix is made up of the urban villages of South Mountain, Laveen, and parts
of Estrella and Central City villages. The area has seen improvements in the past, and has been
better represented by community-led development projects, but work remains to be done. Larger
infrastructure projects have also helped the area, such as the completion of the Loop-202 connecting
the West and Southeast Valley commuters. At this time, the light rail system will see an extension
from the downtown hub to south central phoenix. This voter approved public transportation expansion
will be vital in connecting South Phoenix residents to downtown jobs and resources. Valley Metro
says that historically underserved communities in metro Phoenix will benefit from this by creating
economic prosperity (Valley Metro, 2019). While the Phoenix area is dependent on automobiles, the
obstacle of making essential services accessible becomes a bigger challenge. Excessive use of
transportation can negatively impact the goals of becoming a sustainable city by contributing to
greenhouse emissions and overall climate change. In the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, there have been
initiatives that embrace positive urban development. The vibrant areas of Tempe that we know today
are a result of the City's initiative to prioritize the use of public transit. The former Mayor, Niel
Giuliano, shares that “You’re advancing an agenda for the long term future of your quality of life, your
economic life, the attraction of jobs, and the attraction of urban redevelopment.” Today, the city
continues to experience transit oriented development with the implementation of the Tempe
StreetCar. While Tempe continues to promote transportation alternatives, South Phoenix remains
dominated by the road.
The neighborhood's diverse development of urban homes to farm fields has been influenced
by the car rather than the people. When driving through the south central corridor one would see a
variety of local businesses along the main roads but when surveying the entire area it can be seen
there are a great deal of auto and tire shops, loan agencies, and unconventional food spots. In
comparison, the area is lacking access to mixed-use shopping centers, fresh food markets, and
health facilities. The strategy of reducing car dependency in exchange for public transit is a step in
the right direction for the community. Urban development could enhance the community by
reimagining the use of open space while improving the walkability and biking of the area. In hoping to
better understand the needs of my community, I have taken the next steps through ASU to research
urban and environmental issues.

ASU STUDENT PLANNING ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 20, 2021
For the Spring 2021 semester, I have joined the research project titled “Sustaining Healthy
Bodies” under the instruction of Professor Rosales Chavez in the School of Geographical Sciences
and Urban Planning. Applying the technical skills of planning and sustainability, we expect to study
the issue of food deserts in south Phoenix communities. According to the CDC, food deserts are
“areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods
that make up the full range of a healthy diet” (CDC, 2021). Learning about the environment as it
pertains to the facilitation as well as obstacles to food sources in how people access them. This will
involve the collection and mapping of both traditional and non-traditional food sources, documentation
of food availability, and an analysis of how this issue affects the community.
In the planning profession, I believe there has been a disconnect between the people and the
planners. As an African American and student of planning and political science it is imperative that I
share the experience of communities of color through platforms like the Arizona APA web blast. As a
future public servant, my goal is to let us attempt to plan with the community, instead of planning for
the community.