My relationship with the transportation industry is loads better than it used to be. It can still improve. The transportation industry can also eventually become the transportation movement and collective.

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

Wow, what a week. I’m happy to report that despite being at Transportation Camp, the Black Professionals Transportation Mixer, Les attending committee sessions at the actual TRB(Transporation Review Board Annual Meeting)  and having a couple of group lunches, one indoors, We are still negative for COVID, even though we are super tired from a very busy and active week. My heart is full and my soul was happy to see all of your beautiful smiling faces. 

Yes, I had to lead with that, because I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to make some needed reconnections and new connections with some dear friends and colleagues in the transportation and equity space. I’ve squashed so many beefs this week. Yes, despite the situation we did raise on Saturday with people still not understanding that equity and inclusion means just that, all kinds of people are going to be equitably included in spaces.

I was so nervous to return to conference life and active transportation work life for not just catching COVID reasons. If you read regularly and if we talk regularly, you know what’s up.

I still read the case and death numbers daily as if it were March 2020. I tried to get my eight free tests when I did my PCR at Kaiser in Camp Springs on Thursday the 12, and they were out at the pharmacy. All this gun and traffic violence. The random heart attacks and unspoken of reasons people seem to die these days. I have regular health care now and I’ve had some major health challenges of my own in the last year, notwithstanding what Les has gone through with her endometriosis.

But the largest reason I was nervous about returning to a major industry/conference room was that even as recently as early 2022, my heart and mind weren’t in a good place with dealing with the industry.

The last time Les and went to Transportation Camp, in 2019,  I had yet to come out to my family and confirm it with many of my friends, even those who are allies, because of me not just being a cis lesbian. I’d just had a meeting about a week prior with the new camp leadership that in so many words stated that they weren’t ready to partner with me as The Black Urbanist. My ex who is also in the industry was still triggering just by being in the room with myself and Les. And then there was the whole thing of Les having to leave the industry and work at an odd place, parallel to me moving to DC and not being able to get into the policy spaces with the shakeup of the 2016-2017 US presidential regime change.

Both she and I were pretty spent by the end of that day. I had no idea that so many of you that day were also distressed, and phoning it in the best we could. 

However, I kept choosing violence even with my industry squad and unrelated family and friends throughout 2019 and at virtual moments for the first two pandemic years because I felt like no one would ever choose me again and I was the only one making hard sacrifices. 

Or if you chose me to go back into a major room of power, say the current federal administration, or even running or writing with a policy group or major industry publication, I would have to change back into more of what I used to look and sound like when I first aspired to work in urban affairs and public service.

I felt too queer, too radical and liberation-minded, too outspoken, and as we got further into the pandemic, too purple-haired and too COVID-cautious to even get back on the mic properly. 

Meanwhile, I started to go inward and meet with all my trauma, all the way back to childhood. The reason why I absolutely had to live somewhere with transit access, was that I just had to get away. I couldn’t explain it until now and for me, being in proximity to a variety of transportation options is a necessity. I also feel a duty to speak up and show up to do what I can to make it easier and safer to use transportation. 

But, I wasn’t the cute straight upwardly mobile Black girl that I used to be. I am a beautiful Black feminine person who believes everyone deserves to be liberated. But being able to declare myself for myself, this evolution of Black queer feminist urbanism that you see here on the page now, I have to thank therapy for, especially for helping me accept that it might not be possible to go back and that what I did in the past can stand on its own and be ok because I’m ok as a person, not just as this platform entity. 

In the meantime, I master more crochet. Les starts endoQueer. Les comes back to professional transportation work first. I pick up virtual speeches, then a project team, and now this mixture of media and communication projects. Then people start inviting us out again. 

And I notice y’all keep opening this newsletter. Sharing it with your friends. Telling Les in the halls and at events that you’re still reading.

And now we are here. In a position to help our friends and colleagues grow and flourish. And in a place where I can hold my own in a still hostile to full equity and liberatory industry and workspace.

It’s so much better than it used to be.

I know many of you might be here for more piping hot tea about some of the things I was privy to thanks to who I spent time with this week. However, there’s no company or person in this work that hasn’t erred in the past or will not err in the future. For that and for us,  I do have a few quick suggestions that I think will make things better:

• Transportation and urbanism is an industry now, but they should be a movement and a collective in the future. We aren’t quite ready for full collective action, because we need to address…

• … How we want to show up to ourselves daily, our family and friends, and to this work and movement. I want to challenge us in 2023 to take this time, especially after your section of the movement’s major gathering, and decide if the way you are perceived and show up is something you’re happy with. I had to recognize that I might not be happy doing the work the way I wanted to before. I had to separate Kristen the person from Kristen the Black Urbanist brand. I had to let my ego sit and recognize where I am most needed and what’s actually of a collective nature and what I do get to keep, like my fiber art.  I had to be ok with being the new Kristen, the real Kristen, and that Kristen and the platform I create to not be accepted at first glance, but still be about the wellbeing of all.

• However, do notice if your urge to leave the industry or dial it down or turn down opportunities is because someone is encouraging you to sit down and shut up, either for their own personal comfort or what they think the industry is ready for. None of what we do will survive without collective action. Sometimes that action does need to be on a large platform or amplified in the streets with a bullhorn.  And if you’re that person encouraging someone to sit down and shut up for any reason, especially if they are already marginalized, but have the ear of the collective and our youth, think long and hard about how that’s really going to play out as you age into your twilight years. Be about preparing to be a good elder and ancestor, rather than holding on to something that time is already sliding out of your hands.

• It’s not too late for us to make sure we sustain this level of support in the United States for active transportation and basic human rights like healthcare access, housing access, and civil rights. Yes, the recent behavior of Congress and the Supreme Court is concerning and disturbing. Yes, states are becoming more hostile. But, everything started as somebody’s dream, even if it was somebody’s nightmare. Let’s dream more beautiful, vibrant dreams and turn them into democratic action.

• Also related, we live on the same Earth and underneath the skin, we all have the same blood and bones. We can be proud of who we are and what we have done and the good deeds of our ancestors, but if we all magically wake up one day liberated from capitalism and imperialism and all the other isms it’s wrought (like creating racism, sex/genderism, classism, ageism, and ableism to make some humans worth more than others), who would we be and what would we do? What if you woke up and you were a different skin tone or you lost some of your ability to do something or you completely changed bodies or genders overnight? Would you be alright? Would you still care about the equity, inclusion, justice, and liberation of others? 

• Finally, let’s be transparent. Be transparent about how we need help. What kinds of skills do we need in our consultancies and communities? Why we haven’t hired and cultivated people in the past? Not being clear about why some projects weren’t won or people weren’t hired can create unnecessary resentment, which leads to both what happened to Les on Saturday and how I started to behave in 2016 up to recently. So many leftist/collective movements end not because of economics, but because of people not healing their internal hurts and pains with themselves and each other.

So, this is where I am after the first big event of the year. I’ll be resting this weekend as we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and all of his thoughts, not just the comfortable ones.

Next week, I’ll be sharing more of what I have planned for 2023 and how I plan to move forward as a better human, not just as a human in this particular space.

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.

My siblings who are still in the Southern US and other equally hostile areas for being queer are just as worthy of love and respect and yes, they too, create community and opportunity for themselves despite the challenges.

I no longer beat myself up for not being about to get a house in DC, as it seems like hardly anyone Black has been able to buy here over the last 20 years.

However, I had I read this recent The Cut story earlier this week of a white woman bemoaning moving to suburbia from Brooklyn because she couldn’t be in the “scene” and I thought about how much I absorbed these kinds of writings from white writers and only recently due to my own class privilege, am able to see how these stories are deeply flawed. More to come of course, on how these stories don’t hold up in an era of people buying homes where they can and homes in general seemingly only available to the wealthy and well-connected.

But we live in a wonderful time, where there’s so many more prominent Black thinkers pushing back against all the narratives we’ve been sold about places and they get to byline the main stories on housing in major papers. Not just byline, but declare without fear that the housing market is a scam. And yes, in case you didn’t get it the first time, the housing market as it’s run now is a scam.

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! Also, standby for book tour dates!

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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