Colonialism and Urban Planning: The Interlinked Systems

Audrey Pan

POLS 5322-001 Jordan Giese

September 24, 2024

In a perfect civilization, racism only exists in genocide and slavery, made by the people

for the people. However, the civilization that the people made with intricate intentions can be

(and has been) at the expense of those who look different from those leading the civilization.

More bluntly, past world leaders and explorers claimed the land as their own despite other

groups (most likely of a different race) who lived on the land before the explorers. Colonialism

has pushed the concept of xenophobia, or the fear of those outside of us, into the minds of

leaders who influenced their followers during the colonialism era in the 1500s. However, this

concept goes further than that. The idea of racism is attributed to various factors that some may

force upon a political party affiliation when, in reality, it moves in waves through history’s

trajectory, so far to the soil we walk on and the sky we look upon.

Environmental Racism is the disproportionate distribution of environmental goods or

management that is based on a different racially populated area. The concept of environmental

racism goes further than air pollution and poor water quality. It is an in-depth explanation that

communities are not created equal when considering city or community planning. Throughout

this commentary, the examination of current disproportionate opportunities dispersed throughout

the United States is a system that has been baked into the many other systems that have

consistently been made and managed by White Americans. Historical patterns of colonialism and

xenophobia have directly influenced contemporary urban planning, perpetuating environmental

injustice. This paper will mention the authority’s role and responsibility to people of color and

the need to fulfill the meaning of “freedom for all” that the land we live on is still not being

considered in the modern era. The analysis will begin with America’s history with colonialism

and the understanding that pushing White narratives may not align with structural systems.

Moving from those systems, there will be a compelling analysis of the manifestations of
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colonialism that have appeared throughout history and into the modern era. This paper will

include a call to action, urging a more inclusive and equitable approach to environmental

management and planning to improve equitable solutions that will benefit not only minority

communities but all communities within the United States.

In the U.S. education system, American children were taught that Christopher Columbus

sailed the ocean blue in 1492, discovered America, and built civilization along with the Native

Americans who welcomed him with open arms. In reality, the notion of “free land” is impeded

by force and control motivated by fear and hierarchical standards. In the chapter Anatomy of

Environmental Racism and the Environmental Justice Movement by Robert D. Bullard, the initial

representation of all people of color in harmful environmental areas is shocking as the

government has always looked the other way. In the beginning paragraph, Bullard says,

“Communities are not all created equal. In the United States, for example, some communities are

routinely poisoned while the government looks the other way. Environmental regulations have

not uniformly benefited all segments of society. People of color (African Americans, Latinos,

Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans) are disproportionately harmed by industrial

toxins on their jobs and in their neighborhoods.”. America has consistently exploited people of

color communities based on free land & labor = free (white) men. (Bullard, 2001). From

understanding the historical context of the consistent exploitation of people of color, posing the

question of why it matters. The current American public perception of racism is complex, and

there will not be an end to the conversation. The varying perspectives on racism are often

chalked up to historical standards and can be taken in those exact varying perspectives. An

example of both sides of the spectrum is a) We (America) should leave the history in the books

where the exploitation of people of color is part of the past. Guidance is needed to enact a plan of
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action. The present should be moving forward constructively and ideologically, and it should

mention history as what it is: history. Or the other side of the spectrum, being b) The exploitation

of people of color needs to have a more in-depth conclusion in the present. As the communities

of color today are navigating their current opportunities, who are we to discredit their experience

living in situations they did not choose to be a part of that are remnants of hundred-year-old

systems?

To advocate for both sides of the spectrum, moving forward from history is a valid

argument to work on the necessary advancements. For example, in The Limits to Planning:

Causal Impacts of City Climate Action Plans, Adam Millard-Ball reviews the implementation of

a plan, such as climate action planning, in basing the decisions surrounding a plan by decision-

makers. “Planning should not be judged solely on its ability to bring about change. Indeed, other

benefits that accrue from planning include the generation of social capital, and the provision of

information-related collective goods that may reduce the costs of urban infrastructure.” The

argument considers the necessary inputs to move past various variables to enact change. In their

conclusion, Ball again demonstrated this claim: "There is a clear gain from planning if it can

solve the coordination problem resulting from the interdependence of decisions.” (Ball 2012).

Using the same source, how would the action plan be enacted to encompass all

communities affected by climate change and the need for collective goods? The opposite side of

the spectrum now poses a new question: How would the people making the decisions actively

reflect the imposition of the interdependence of decision-making? Drawing from a previous

source, the Bullard text, the most polluted and environmentally distraught communities are

those with crumbling infrastructure, ongoing economic disinvestment, deteriorating housing,

inadequate schooling systems, chronic unemployment, high poverty rate, and an overall high
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health care overload. Within these urban communities, it comes as no surprise to the author that

the “dirtiest” communities house African Americans and Latinos, using the example of the “Riot

Torn South Central Los Angeles area.” (Bullard, 2001) Using the Bullard text as an example

contrasts the first argument to leave history in the past. City planning will have disproportionate

opportunities for people of color if not implemented with diverse planners, which will not

happen if the city planners are not educated in the first place with the knowledge to plan a

community in the area.

To draw on the manifestations of colonialism that are baked into the current systems, it is

imperative to look at the past and see adequate examples of the current living situations in

various communities and the outcomes of colonial practices. Using the presentation on

Understanding Environmental Policy, the coastline of Alabama currently affects the election

outcomes in the modern day. One hundred million years ago, water being pushed into Alabame

created soil sediments leading to the Fertile Blackland Prairie Soil, so plantations and farms

could develop where the fertile soil lives. The issue arises when the slave trade is used for free

labor throughout the plantations, and now, in the 21st century, along the old sediments that were

washed up over one hundred million years ago, is a majority Black population AND is a strand

of democratic voters in Alabama.

What goes to show in today’s ideology is the lack of acknowledgment of historical

standards that do not appeal to a positive standpoint. To take race, class, and politics out of the

question (though all intertwined in some way) pushes a narrative that does not accurately reflect

the development of environmental protection but America’s socioeconomic status as a whole.

However, the ecological movements that are being pushed into fruition that cause a significant

shift in change will affect people of color who are being harmed in these communities.
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` To use another example from the Bullard text, activists of color make an immense push

for environmental justice, as most of their communities are the targets of poor living

environments that are affected by the collective goods for the public. However, Bullard

mentions the lack of inclusion seen by mainstream environmental groups that fail to address

environmental issues within targeted communities as if to say that caring for the environment

and collective goods like clean air is only for those who can afford to care or in a situation to

understand where they stand in the movement. In reality, the truth of that matter shows that

people of color need to care for the mess they did not make in the first place and work to

understand their living conditions better. (Bullard, 2001) This also shows how constituents will

elect their public officials in their community, but what if the community has no access to

education, as the previous Bullard quote mentions? How would they have the resources,

knowledge, and overall ambition to run for office against White officials with access, education,

and knowledge?

In conclusion, all these systems are intertwined to an inexplicable level. Examining

current disproportionate opportunities dispersed throughout the United States is a system that has

been baked into the many other systems consistently made and managed by White Americans,

leaving out the Americans who do not have less melanin in their skin. It’s time to actively look at

the environmental movements that should better everyone, not just those with the quality

education and knowledge to be in a higher power position.

Bibliography
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Bullard, R. (2001). Anatomy of environmental racism and the environmental justice movement.

In R. Hofrichter (Ed.), Toxic struggles: The theory and practice of environmental justice (pp. 15-

40). New Society Publishers.

Millard-Ball, A. (2013). The limits to planning: Causal impacts of city climate action plans.

Journal of Planning Education and Research, 33(1), 5-19