I can’t preach at y’all about moving from industry to collective without making my own pledges. This is how I intend to do it, with ease and with affirmation that I have the right answers already, this calendar year.

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 third and final in my “Origins” series, as I prepare to make some needed, but growth-minded shifts to the platform.

So let me make it clear that when I’ve been mentioning growth-related shifts at the beginning of this newsletter, what I mean is that  I will be pruning more than growing. I’ll be growing because time will pass. I won’t be chasing things that are already meant to come to me anyway. 

I will be shaping the sustainable and accessible  Black queer feminist urbanism we all need. 

But, I am sharing some tangibles as to what I’m doing in 2023. So, let’s start with number one

•  I will still be editing external publications part-time. This work has allowed me to store up my own independent funding, which I can use to build more time in my day for resting and daydreaming so that my creativity flows with ease. I also need to take care of several personal matters so that my ease of growth won’t be hampered or shaken by things that are missing in my home or technology not working or lack of healthcare. This is also allowing me to stay in the loop and contribute to presenting information on equitable urbanism more broadly and getting myself prepared for creating more publications.
• Next month, I’ll be taking a test drive of presenting in person. I’ll be flying for the first time since October of 2019 to New York to present my approach to Black queer feminist urbanism at a Columbia University symposium on February 7th. I will be masked as much as humanly possible and I will be resting and eliminating as many distractions as possible to rest through the weeks leading up to this. If this works, I’ll be opening up my books to a few other external conferences and campus lecture opportunities. I’m open now for any virtual presentations you want to schedule in March of this year and beyond. 
• If the test drive goes well, I will be booking more in-person events, to promote my book A Black Urbanist Journey to a Queer Feminist Future. I will be prioritizing outdoor venues and tying myself into existing outdoor festivals and community events. If you are hosting an event like this sometime in 2023 and 2024 and are willing to host me as a keynote or have a fireside chat with me over my book, please reach out to me. I’m also looking for people to read and review the book in advance. A digital review copy of the book and pre-orders are about 6-8 weeks away, but we are ever closer to this process and I’m so excited to bring this out into the world.
• I am aiming to make my NYC presentation outfit and have been making good progress with the crocheting involved. I hope to make all of the major outfits I wear on stages and I’m also investing in the kinds of shoes that will help me be more walkable as I ease back out into the world. I also will be doing a least, two, if not four more yarn events this year, but that also comes under my in-person training and mentorings.
• I’m reading and re-reading the books on my Black Queer Feminist Urbanist canon in order to relaunch the Black Queer Feminist Urbanist School as an online course option in quarter four of this year. I’ll be talking about what I’m reading in a new section of this newsletter, called On The Shelf, launching in the next newsletter.
• In addition to adding this new section to the newsletter, each newsletter going forward will focus on a why of Black queer feminist urbanism, as I work to illuminate the K. Jeffers Index for Black Queer Feminist Urbanism and add more data and maps for research and well-being, as well as provide a check-in for folks at these intersections and allies to continue their wellness and liberation journeys.
• Continuing to offer the opportunity to sponsor this newsletter and use this as a platform for your job ads, conference announcements, requests for proposals, and other things you want to make sure to reach the audience of marginalized folks in urbanism and their allies. The rates are still the same, but the newsletter will launch on Fridays. Your ad copy and payment will now be due the Monday prior to the Friday newsletter you want to go in and ad space is available for the February 3rd email and later.
• Creating more opportunities to mentor folks wanting to have an urbanism career and teaching companies what they need to do so they can fulfill my wishes from last week’s newsletter and we can continue to grow the formal opportunities of urbanism and fund existing grassroots tactical urbanism efforts.
• Taking on my first board service role in about a decade, as a trustee of Boston-based CultureHouse.

I know this seems like a lot of stuff, but it’s not happening every day and some of it may not happen quite in this order. However, the cornerstone of all this is that I spent active time in meditation and resting (I’m laying down as I type this) to come up with these things. These are all things I wanted to do from my gut and not things I’m forced to do. My challenge to you is can you find those things for you? And then, how can you shift your life so that they create abundance and well-being for you and others?

This is how we get to collective action, with self and community care, versus an industrious, hustling, bustling, exploiting attitude and means of governance and service provision.

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.

Yes, I’m super excited to be under a history-making governor here in Maryland. Only time will tell if things get dramatically better, but so far, things are looking up, both in what governance steps are being taken and how history is being honored and acknowledged.

However, just because I’m inching out the doors doesn’t mean I’m happy about how we’ve abandoned virus mitigation, especially seeing how the World Economic Forum is operating, in-person, with all the filters, tests, and even still masking. How can we get this detailed in our dealings?

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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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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Happy New Year,

Kristen