Changing Ways, Making  Change (2019)

Editor: Margaret Keener


The theme of Volume 44, Changing Ways, Making Change, was inspired by the planner’s enduring yet evolving relationship with change. Our field is inherently intertwined with change: how can we best adapt to and manage inevitable change, prevent detrimental change, and create positive change in our communities?

At the same time, planning as a discipline is as dynamic as the communities in which we work. Fresh minds entering the field, technological advancements, and emerging challenges, among a host of other factors, drive the evolution of planning strategies. Authors in this volume share new tools and approaches, advocate for novel applications of successful methods, and propose alternative paradigms for planning.

This volume begins close to home. Patricia Amend, Erika Brandt, MCRP ’17, Leigh AnneKing, AICP, LEED AP, Cheryl Plourde, Charlotte R. Stewart, and Emila Sutton provide an overview of affordable housing  tools and program to address both supply- and demand- side housing needs in North Carolina. Next, we travel to Columbus, Ohio, where Rebecca E. Kemper shares a compelling case study of artist residencies shifting from “placemakers” to “placekeepers” to counter displacement pressures in creative districts.

Two of our articles explore the topic of women and planning. Mia Candy, MCRP ’16, encourages us to look beyond US borders for gender mainstreaming interventions that better meet the needs of women, making cities more accessible, convenient, and affordable for all. Michelle E. Nance, AICP and Emily Scott-Cruz present a deep dive of women and transit, culminating in a robust list of recommendations for policymakers and planners.

On the topic of transportation, Seth LaJeunesse, MCRP ’10, challenges us to rethink our current transportation safety narrative by proffering a new Safe Systems paradigm. A timely commentary on the introduction of electric scooters in Indianapolis by Daniel Hedglin, MCRP ’14, is sure to resonate with many municipalities navigating policy creation fitting to a new and unexpected mode of transport. Finally, in light of continually record-breaking hurricane seasons, Samantha Porter, MPA and Lindsay Oluyede, AICP propose a novel application of social media and ride-hailing for equitable evacuation that better serves vulnerable populations.

As always, this volume includes an overview of Master’s Projects from 2018, a year-in-review newsletter from the halls of New East, and book reviews from current students, with a featured review by Darien Williams, MCRP ’18.

The cover image by photographer Dylan Alvarez of sunrise in Everglades National Park portrays the vitality and potential of each new day. Authors in this volume remind us of the importance of creativity, the need to critically examine why we do what we have always done, and the value of embracing new ways—from near and far—to make needed change.

A digital version of this volume is available here.