Healing Black Futures

Transportation and Infrastructure justice is an important element of the movement for reparations, given this country’s history of bisecting and destroying communities of color through the construction of highways, light rail and other transportation systems. Now, generations later, Black urbanists are bringing a reparative lens to urban planning that literally heals the scars of racism in urban cities, undoing decades of structural exclusion. Our guest today is Kristen Jeffers, founder and editor-in-chief of the Black Urbanist, a muti-media platform exploring the urbanist movement. Kristen centers urbanism at the interaction of Black, queer, feminist theory.

Show Notes

Transportation and Infrastructure justice is an important element of the movement for reparations, given this country’s history of bisecting and destroying communities of color through the construction of highways, light rail and other transportation systems. Now, generations later, Black urbanists are bringing a reparative lens to urban planning that literally heals the scars of racism in urban cities, undoing decades of structural exclusion.

Repairing what’s broken requires both an understanding of current transportation and infrastructure policy as well as grounding in an afro-futuristic vision of what’s possible.
 
Our guest today is Kristen Jeffers, founder and editor-in-chief of the Black Urbanist, a muti-media platform exploring the urbanist movement. Kristen centers urbanism at the interaction of Black, queer, feminist theory.

She holds a Master of Public Affairs focused on community and economic development from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in public relations from North Carolina State University. She has presented at the annual gatherings of the Congress for New Urbanism, YIMBYTown, Walk Bike Places, CityWorksXpo, APA Virginia, NACTO, and to communities around the US and Canada, using her personal story to illustrate what land use and planning really means and really does, plus encourage practitioners, both young and old in best practices. She is a Streetsblog Network member and has also contributed articles to CityLab, Greater Greater Washington, [Greensboro] News & Record, Yes! Weekly, Grist, Next City, Better! Towns and Cities, Triad City Beat,  Urban Escapee, and Urbanful and appeared on several NPR affiliate stations (KCUR, WAMU, and WUNC)  as a commentator and expert.
 

What is Healing Black Futures?

Welcome to Healing Black Futures, a podcast envisioning Black liberation and healing through economic justice, brought to you by Reparations4slavery.com. Hosted by herbalist Asia Dorsey, the podcast features interviews with people leading the liberatory path forward.