Our first guest for this series exploring how urban planning is fostering change in contemporary society was Lindiwe Rennert, a transport planner and PhD student in the department or Geography and Environment at the LSE. Lindiwe’s work focusses on the interplay between transit and race-based inequity in urban environments.
In this episode, we talked about the role transport planning carries in shaping our cities, particularly exploring themes of race, property value and access to services. We also discussed the case for reparation and the importance of increasing access to opportunities for Black communities through public transport provision.
I was curious about Lindiwe’s experience as a transport planner in Boston, how she had tackled the topics of public transport provision and race in this dense city. Lindiwe has led on the institutionalizing of race-centric metrics into the project evaluation processes. She is also a strong advocate for the bus, a flexible tool to increase mobility quickly in less connected areas.
Of course, we did not stay far off the topic of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on cities, in terms of car traffic and use of public transport. More and more pressure has been added on the roads, impacting the relationship citizens have to traffic enforcement but also threatening the adequate provision of safe public transport options.
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Don’t miss our episode with Dr Romola Sanyal HERE
