Allentza Michel's guest appearances

Allentza Michel

B-Change

Aaron Tanaka

Robbie Samuels

Maria Sirois

Marc Cordon

Marcus Santos

Elmer Pleitez

Woullard Lett

Shirronda Almeida

Joanne Brunn

Penn Loh

Sheerine Alemzadeh

Tomas Aguilar

Marcy Goldstein-Gelb

Eben Weitzman

Julian Agyeman

OwlTail

Growing up in Mattapan, a neighborhood on the southern tip of Boston that today comprises predominantly people of color, Allentza Michel didn’t know that urban planning was even a potential field of study for her. Yet, she felt its impacts every day: a history of redlining, segregation, and, more recently, gentrification. But she also experienced the community’s rich tradition of “looking after each other”.   As she became familiar with the field of urban planning, it didn’t appear that there was a place for her as a Haitian-American woman, given that the vast majority of planners were white, male, and middle-class. Those planners looked and thought more like the elected officials who were hiring them and making critical decisions about the future of neighborhoods like hers.  Now Allentza has joined with a network of women of color who are taking planning processes and “flipping them on their head” in order to ensure that the people most impacted have a strong voice at the table. Allentza has a Masters in Public Policy from Tufts University's Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy program. In this episode, she describes:  - The need to disrupt traditional planning through approaches that put impacted residents at the center — such as community-engaged “civic hacks” which generate outside-the-box ideas in historically marginalized neighborhoods.   - Some key principles and practices that leaders can use to engage in democratic planning processes.   - Her experience launching a nonprofit organization that both fosters innovative, inclusive community planning processes and seeks to itself reflect those democratic and participative values.    Resources mentioned in this episode:  The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein A People’s History of New Boston, Jim Vrabel Go Boston 2030 Interaction Institute for Social Change Powerful Pathways, Mattapan Open Studios Mel King Institute Mass Smart Growth Alliance Masters in Public Policy from Tufts University's Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy program

Growing up in Mattapan, a neighborhood on the southern tip of Boston that today comprises predominantly people of color, Allentza Michel didn’t know that urban planning was even a potential field of study for her. Yet, she felt its impacts every day: a history of redlining, segregation, and, more recently, gentrification. But she also experienced the community’s rich tradition of “looking after each other”. As she became familiar with the field of urban planning, it didn’t appear that there was a place for her as a Haitian-American woman, given that the vast majority of planners were white, male, and middle-class. Those planners looked and thought more like the elected officials who were hiring them and making critical decisions about the future of neighborhoods like hers. Now Allentza has joined with a network of women of color who are taking planning processes and “flipping them on their head” in order to ensure that the people most impacted have a strong voice at the table. Allentza has a Masters in Public Policy from Tufts University's Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy program. In this episode, she describes:  - The need to disrupt traditional planning through approaches that put impacted residents at the center — such as community-engaged “civic hacks” which generate outside-the-box ideas in historically marginalized neighborhoods.  - Some key principles and practices that leaders can use to engage in democratic planning processes.  - Her experience launching a nonprofit organization that both fosters innovative, inclusive community planning processes and seeks to itself reflect those democratic and participative values.   Resources mentioned in this episode: <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Color of Law</a>, Richard Rothstein <a href="https://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/peoples-history-new-boston" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A People’s History of New Boston</a>, Jim Vrabel <a href="https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/go-boston-2030" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Go Boston 2030 </a><a href="https://interactioninstitute.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Interaction Institute for Social Change </a><a href="https://powerfulpathways.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Powerful Pathways, </a><a href="http://www.mattapanopenstudios.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mattapan Open Studios </a><a href="https://melkinginstitute.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mel King Institute </a><a href="https://ma-smartgrowth.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mass Smart Growth Alliance </a><a href="https://grad.tufts.edu/gsas-urban-environmental-policy-planning/?gclid=CjwKCAjwgbLzBRBsEiwAXVIygIteV43HNO8OFj1yJCRz-JIiEPS8helgc63bsX0PULk7hYcOoPLK7hoC6TEQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Masters in Public Policy from Tufts University's Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy program</a>

Community Planning From The Inside Out With Allentza Michel