This year, I’m embracing this platform as a journey first, destination second.
This is The Black Urbanist Weekly with Kristen Jeffers, an email newsletter that highlights the Black Queer Feminist Urbanist thoughts and commentary of me, Kristen E. Jeffers, an internationally-known urban planner, fiber designer, and contributing editor. Think of this as an editorial page column, but directly in your email. This week is the first in my “Origins” series, as I prepare to make some needed, but growth-minded shifts to the platform.
So we are six days into another calendar year. We’re also into our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and two years out from one insurrection and waiting on the results of a quieter one at the US Capitol.
I have lots of well-fitting masks, plenty of tests, and a steady income that I make from home, some of which I have you to thank for. I have plans to throw on one of those masks and socialize and present at some conferences and happy hours this year. My book is on my editor’s desk. I have lots of yarn projects on my hooks ready to be stitched up.
And I’m going into the 13th year of stewarding this platform. However, as I said in the lead and in prior newsletters, doing it all alone is a little off.
When I created The Black Urbanist online platform in 2010, all I wanted to do was hide behind that name and push myself forward behind the safety of that shield.
However, over time, I realized that this was more than just a project I started based on something I was fascinated with, coupled with my need to practice my writing and editing.
I wasn’t the only one feeling alone in my public administration classes and sadly, I still get those kinds of emails, texts, and direct messages from people feeling alone in the urbanism world, especially queer, trans and disabled folks.
Seeing my work as a journey, not a destination to specific Black urbanism, is helping me with my personal, lived offline Black urbanism. Claiming that stake in my personal Black urbanism, while lifting up the greater movement of Black folks taking up space globally, will aid me in finishing this marathon, versus treating it like a sprint.
I was alluding to this in this past year’s wishes, which I’ll still be making this year, along with a few other new things to come here in this newsletter and on the big platform. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be pulling back the curtain to how things will be going in 2023 and beyond.
One change that is obvious for 2023 is that for January, the newsletter will go out on Fridays.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that you can still advertise in this newsletter. Prices start at just $75 a week with a four-week commitment. As you see below, this is a great opportunity for your job announcements, along with conference registrations and requests for proposals and submissions. You can also become a Patreon as an individual and support this work for as little as $5 a month.
By the Way
If you’re new here, I write out my grand thesis of the week above, then I share other articles/videos that were noteworthy for me this week in this section. Apologies in advance for things behind a paywall. Some things I subscribe to and others I grab just before the wall comes down on me. I will start marking these articles and describing them.
So I spent most of 2022 begging everyone to be wiser about how we gathered as respiratory illnesses and exposure becomes a fact of life. This article from Truthout is a good baseline as to where I am now. With pre-testing, air purifiers, ventilation, and Les and I still wearing an N95, KN95, or KF94 mask in situations where I can’t detect risk, our world has opened up a little more this year, along with our goals of building our solidarities and community care.
Yes, this is how I came to my decision this weekend to be at some of all the transportation gatherings. Yes, that is me in the black face mask and with the purple hair. I do hug, so please say hi! I am still prioritizing outdoor dining and gathering, especially in warmer weather and around heat lamps, so I can savor my food. We’ve also expanded our indoor no-restrictions pod as we anticipate more unrelated health challenges. I also have an in-person panel in New York coming up in which I’ll be masked on the panel. And book events, too! More details to come.
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And no, it’s not a fluke, some of those things you panic bought on Amazon and Instagram in 2020 may already be broken in 2023. In addition to all the other things broken and diseased in the world, the stuff we use continues to be engineered and designed to fall apart and make us buy more stuff.
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The US Census Bureau confirms that disabled people often do not return to the same residence after a natural disaster.
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Finally, it’s not too late to ensure this Black women’s mutual aid society based in Brooklyn’s historic building can be saved.
Before You Go
The folks at the University of California, San Diego would love for you to know about not just one, but two tenue-track jobs they have available next year. And the City of Kalamazoo Michigan is looking for a Planner I. Plus, some housekeeping about our little space. First the three jobs.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING
The Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of California, San Diego invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor working in the area of urban studies and planning to begin July 1, 2023.
This is a position for a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego, a rapidly-growing department with strategic emphases on social and spatial justice; climate justice; and multinational planning.
The department is interested in candidates who have demonstrated commitment to excellence by strong engagement in teaching, research, and service toward building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment. The successful candidate will be an excellent scholar with an active research program in one or more of the following areas: transportation planning; climate change mitigation and adaptation; environment and land use planning; health and wellness, and/or spatial analytics.
The University of California, San Diego is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, covered veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.
Department: https://usp.ucsd.edu
Apply link: https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF03452
Open date: November 21, 2022
Next review date: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Friday, Mar 31, 2023 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
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And…
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING WITH A
FOCUS ON DESIGNING JUST FUTURES
The Department of Urban Studies and Planning seeks faculty candidates at the level of Assistant Professor whose research, teaching, and service will advance scholarship and institutional solutions for designing more just and equitable systems and structures.
This faculty member will advance UC San Diego’s commitment to the inclusion of Indigenous, Black, and migrant communities, anti-racism, anti-oppression, equity, and social justice. We especially welcome candidates whose professional experience, community engagement, and personal background have facilitated their understanding of and ability to better serve students from Indigenous and other underrepresented populations.
Faculty hired under this Initiative will join the UC San Diego campus, the UC San Diego Design Lab (https://designlab.ucsd.edu/), and the Indigenous Futures Institute (https://ifi.ucsd.edu/) to forge a new paradigm of engagement and collaboration that draws on the geographic, academic, institutional, and cultural strengths of our tri-national region across Southern California, Baja California, and the Kumeyaay region.
This search is part of a UC San Diego-wide cluster hire on Designing Just Futures (https://www.design-just-futures.ucsd.edu/) that aims to recruit scholars who can contribute to the advancement of design, social justice, and Indigenous, Black, and migrant futures and seeks engagement with scholars across disciplines to address issues of territory, access, and equity, and social and political debates pertinent to Indigenous, Black, border, and migrant communities, while also working within their home departments and professional communities.
Department: https://usp.ucsd.edu
Apply link: https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF03484
Next review date: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Friday, Mar 31, 2023 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
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POSITION: Planner
SALARY: P1 ($54,000 – $77,000)
OPENING DATE: January 4, 2023
CLOSING DATE: January 20, 2023 11:59 PM
LOCATION: Planning Division, 245 North Rose Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan
DEPARTMENT: Community Planning & Economic Development
Description/Distinguishing Features: The primary role of the Planner is development review. This includes working with applicants through the multiple stages of development – from idea to closing out the finished site plan – and with both very experienced and first-time developers. The Planner is the manager of the Site Plan Review Process. This critical process is run administratively and includes staff from departments across the City that come together weekly to support the development process. The Planner runs this committee, facilitating the review of all projects. The Planner must have a strong background in planning and zoning, but also familiarity with building codes, utilities, streets, and stormwater functions. In addition to site plan review, the Planner attends the regular Projects Meetings designed to support development projects in their early stages. The Planner’s role in the development process is critical and requires attention to detail, the ability to facilitate large group meetings, and skill in guiding conversations in order to reach a consensus or understanding of next steps. The Planner also supports the administration of the zoning code, working with the Zoning Administrator and Code Inspectors.
The Planning Division is part of the Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED). The division leads community engagement across the City; is the primary keeper of the Master Plan, supporting its implementation across all departments; supports Public Services with transportation projects; and administers, updates, and supports development policies from zoning to historic preservation to Brownfield Redevelopment. Within Planning, there are staff who focus on short-range, everyday planning and development support and staff who focus on medium and long-range planning and engagement.
Examples of Duties:
- Guiding applicants through the Site Plan Review Process
- Coordinating the review of projects by staff both within and outside of the Community Planning & Economic Development Department
- Attending development review meetings
- Meeting with prospective developers – big and small
- Working with applicants to troubleshoot development hurdles
- Review plans and provide clear feedback
- Site inspections as necessary to support projects moving through the development process
Minimum Qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree in urban planning, geography, landscape architecture, geography, urban design, or a related field; master’s degree preferred. AICP certification is a plus.
- Three or more years of planning experience that includes plan review and meeting facilitation.
- Strong communication skills and ability to discuss and write on complicated topics in a way that is easily understood by both experienced developers and the average resident.
- Out-of-the-box, critical thinker with a willingness to develop new techniques, and turn the critical review lens on internal processes and activities.
- Understanding the development pro formas and ability to speak engineering and design a plus
- Ability to say no while offering alternatives and/or next steps.
- Understanding of the concepts from Congress of New Urbanism, Smart Growth America, Project for Public Spaces, and other similar best practices with training in form-based codes, public engagement, and urban design through such certifications by the Form-based Code Institute (FBCI), National Charrette Institute (NCI), Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), or American Planners Association/Michigan Association of Planners or similar is plus.
- Understanding the greater community vision of Kalamazoo (currently Imagine Kalamazoo 2025) and how it influences all work in the Planning Division.
- Working knowledge of GIS, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and databases.
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So videos. I basically collapsed into a human burrito last week. However, I am also working on creating a sustainable audio and video recording speed for myself, because I really want everyone to be able to experience my newsletters.The videos are coming, but instead of giving myself a deadline, I’ll be doing these at ease, with some fun elements that will make the video and audio experience even stronger on the platforms I chose to share them on.
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I have created a special landing page, www.theblackurbanist.com/books, that’s not only a home for my upcoming volume, A Black Urbanist Journey to a Queer Feminist Future, but I have embedded my Bookshop.org booklists here as well since we were having so many issues with the link. Go here for all things books I’ve read and my book when it comes out!
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My capabilities deck is coming. You can reach out to me for press opportunities and schedule time on my Calendly again for 2023.
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Thank you for supporting the 2022 capital campaign. Thanks to you, this year, I was able to cover my web hosting, enhance this newsletter, and position myself to take on some other client projects. However, if you want to send me money for quick expenses or like a tip jar, you can Venmo me. I will also be introducing a paid tier for Substack and Medium users to also function like a tip jar and which will provide detailed reporting as we shift operations into both a for-profit and non-profit model.
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Happy New Year,
Kristen