Equity Diversity Inclusion
APA has made a focused commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in all forms. APA supports planners who work towards achieving thriving communities in which everyone has equal opportunity to live a safe, healthy, and prosperous life.

In this Section
Our EDI Commitment
How You Can Get Involved
Voices of Equity in Planning
Equity in Practice Case Studies
Equity and Certification
Equity Diversity Inclusion Blog Posts
December 22, 2022
Removing Freeways and Healing Communities
December 13, 2022
Creating a Collaborative Diversity-Oriented Internship Program
December 8, 2022
Increase Representation with Community Naming
November 22, 2022
Restorative Planning in Action: Lessons from Mound Up!
November 17, 2022
Restoring Pueblo Housing and Rebuilding Community Value
November 17, 2022
How to Integrate Climate Equity Into Planning
November 14, 2022
Elevating Community Stories Through Historic Contexts
November 9, 2022
Building Community Relationships Through Pop Ups
Featured Equity Diversity Inclusion Resources
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7 Emerging Tips for Equitable Digital Engagement
Despite the ever-present digital divide, inclusive public outreach and social distancing are not mutually exclusive.Here’s a look at some of the ways planners and local leaders are keeping engagement efforts inclusive in the COVID-19 pandemic, even while social distancing. -
A Framework for Promoting Equity Through Zoning
Zoning Practice — July 2019by: Elizabeth Garvin, AICP July 01, 2019This issue of Zoning Practice discusses why modern zoning has not produced equitable outcomes, identifies development outcomes that would be more equitable for local communities, and highlights broad opportunities for zoning reforms to support those outcomes.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Planning With Diverse Communities
PAS Report 593by: Ivis Garcia, AICP, Andrea Garfinkel-Castro, Deirdre Pfeiffer, AICPThe U.S. will become a “majority-minority” country by the mid-2040s. More than before, planners must serve diverse publics and build inclusive communities. This PAS Report offers the tools planners need to engage people of color and improve quality of life for all in ethnically and racially diverse communities.List price$25.00APA member & PAS subscriber$0.00 -
Hispanic, Latino, Latina, or Latinx?
An urban planning scholar traces the terms and shows how to be intentional about their use.Usage of the words Hispanic, Latino/a, and Latinx has evolved over time and differs between users, so it can be difficult for planners to navigate which term to use in the correct context. -
Racism Is a Public Health Crisis, Local Governments Declare
Decades of research confirms what COVID-19 statistics show: Racism is the leading cause of health inequities. How will states and cities respond?Multiple public health studies over decades show that being black is bad for your health, and pervasive racism is the cause. -
Six Ways Planners Can Help Communities Bridge the Racial Wealth Gap
by: Karen KazmierczakPlanners offer a big-picture, multidisciplinary lens that can play a pivotal role in increasing equity. Here are six things planners can do to advance racial wealth and economic opportunity in your community. -
After 140 Years, the Wiyot Tribe Has Come Home
For the first time in U.S. history, a local municipality has returned stolen Native land without an accompanying sale or lawsuit.After years of local activism, Eureka, California’s city council voted to return a historic 202 acres of Tuluwat Island to the federally recognized Wiyot Tribe. -
Planning for Equity Policy Guide
by: American Planning Association June 04, 2019APA's first-ever Planning for Equity Policy Guide identifies policy recommendations for planners to advocate for equity in all aspects of planning at local, state, and federal levels. -
L.A. High Schoolers Learn about Planning and Social Equity at UCLA
by: Dustin CalliariLos Angeles high school students learned about city planning and social equity at a conference put on by a planning student organization at UCLA. -
Rewriting the Urban Planning Canon
A planning education that focuses solely on a few predominantly white heroic figures is incomplete and unethical. -
Social Equity
Social equity means all community members can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Explore this collection of resources that provide background, research, and policy guidance or demonstrate how local and regional agencies are using plans, regulations, and programs to advance social equity goals.