By Dr. Teresa M. Jeter
Every October, we celebrate National Community Planning Month, a recognition established by the American Planning Association (APA) to highlight the vital role urban and regional planners play in shaping our communities. While often behind the scenes, planners help communities navigate change, protect culture and build resilience.
For African American neighborhoods, planning is not just technical—it is historical and deeply personal. Too many of our communities still bear the scars of urban renewal, disinvestment and displacement. Vacant lots, aging infrastructure and rising rents reflect decisions made without us in the room. But planning also offers tools for healing, restoration and transformation.
I know this firsthand. Early in my career, I partnered with a board of pastors who wanted to fill vacant lots in their neighborhood with housing. These were men of faith, not real estate developers. The president of the board, then in his 80s, greeted me with a line I’ll never forget: “Keep us out of jail!” His humor carried truth—they wanted to build, but they lacked the technical expertise. Together, we created a plan that turned abandoned land into housing, proving what happens when lived experience and professional guidance unite.
That project taught me what planning truly is: a bridge between expertise and community. It is not simply about maps and zoning codes, but about amplifying voices too often ignored. It is about helping pastors, parents and local leaders turn dreams into blueprints and blueprints into reality.
Today, this work is more urgent than ever. Climate change threatens our most vulnerable neighborhoods with flooding, heat and poor air quality. Housing affordability is at crisis levels, and Black communities are disproportionately displaced by gentrification. But planning—done equitably—can counter these forces. It can expand affordable housing, preserve cultural heritage and create resilient neighborhoods where children can thrive.
That is why National Community Planning Month is not just a recognition—it is a call to action. We need more African-American voices in planning rooms, on zoning boards, and in neighborhood associations. Our faith leaders, who already anchor our communities, can partner with planners to reimagine land for housing, green space or cultural centers. Young people, who bring energy and innovation, can consider careers in planning where they can carry the torch of justice forward.
The truth is this: planners cannot do this work alone. Communities thrive when residents are not just consulted but empowered. My experience with that board of pastors showed me the transformative power of collaboration.
As we celebrate this October, let us honor the planners who dedicate themselves to creating healthier, safer and more equitable communities. And let us honor the community leaders—like those pastors—who dared to believe in a different future. Together, they remind us that when we plan with purpose, we build with hope.
And when we build with hope, we create communities where everyone belongs.