08/20/2026
Educating yourself on planning theory is important. Theory helps us understand the reasoning behind the way our environments built and also helps to point out the ways our environment fails to support us.
Me recommending these pieces is to encourage you to recognize the way your environment and town underperforms to support your needs. These pieces will show how things can change for the better. Below is a synopsis on each piece and why I think they are important to read.
A Gender Agenda: New Directions for Planning Theory:
Sandercock and Forsyth, who are both urban studies & planning professors, wrote this paper to draw attention to how gender impacts urban planning. They explain how using gender-sensitive theory can contribute to the areas of social and economic relationships, communication, planning methodology, ethics, and public spaces.
This paper is important because it emphasizes how those who are not men have been discriminated against in our world for so long and in turn, have to live in places not built for them. This paper introduces a new perspective to how our cities are built.
The Philadelphia Negro:
DuBois was a popular novelist and professor, who made notable contributions to literature and politics during the 1900s. His work also included being a civil rights advocate for Black Americans. His book examines how race affected (and still affects) an individual’s social and economic status in America. Philadelphia is the main focus of this book as the city had the largest and oldest settlement of African-Americans in the north.
This book is important to read as it demonstrates the impacts of segregation on housing and how many issues of Black and Brown people have been ignored by American authorities.
Feminist City:
Kern is an associate professor of geography and environment as well as the director of women’s and gender studies at Mount Allison University. This book by Kern explores how cities have been built by and designed for white, cisgender, able-bodied men. This has resulted in spaces excluding women, like sidewalks not wide enough for strollers or dimly-lit streets making it unsafe to walk at night. The book then explores the “Feminist City,” where Kern lays out the possibilities of reshaping cities to fit the needs of everybody.
This book is incredibly impactful because Kern uses not only her own experiences as woman, but other people’s experiences to show how cities have not been built for them. I also think this book makes you reflect on your own experiences and how you can foster a feminist city in your own community.
Housing Policy in the United States:
Schwartz is Professor Emeritus (honorary title for a distinguished & retired professor) in the Public and Urban Policy program at the New School for Social Research. Housing Policy in the United States offers a comprehensive guide to America’s housing programs, financing, and urban development throughout the country’s history.
This book has helped me have a deep understanding of the different housing programs offered to Americans as well as the pros and cons of the different programs. Moreover, this book analyze how equitable housing programs are in the U.S.
Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital:
Putnam is an American political scientist who specializes in comparative politics. Bowling Alone examines the dramatic decline of social capital, which Putnam defines as the networks or relationships, trust, and civic engagement in a community.
This book gives importance to talking with others in your neighborhood and community. It also shows how broadening your own sense of self to welcoming others into your life creates a more collectivist and caring community.
Happy reading!
