Lecture Recap and Video: Tamika L. Butler on the Practice of Equitable Planning

Tamika L Butler, Esq. has a diverse background in law, community organizing and nonprofit leadership. As the Principal + Founder of Tamika L. Butler Consulting she focuses on shining a light on inequality, inequity and social justice. She provides consulting, training, coaching and public speaking for a wide range of organizations in the public and private sectors. 

Tamika joined CAPLA for a Zoom lecture titled "The Practice of Equitable Planning." She challenges the audience of students, academics and urban planning professionals to continually assess the impacts their planning decisions have on marginalized communities by checking the power dynamics in the process: "There are a lot of questions you can ask to figure out power dynamics, but you can always start by saying, 'Who is in the decision making position?' And then follow up that question: 'But who is going to be most impacted when this decision is made?' If those two groups don't align, your power dynamics are off." She encourages planners to adopt an inclusive process that considers the needs of people who are often excluded from the conversation. 

She ends the lecture with a reminder for urban planners to consider equity and inclusion in the work they do and in each decision they make, saying, "This isn't work for just some of us. This is work for all of us."

Recently, Butler was Toole Design’s director of planning for California and the director of equity and inclusion. She has gained extensive experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors as the executive director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, the executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and the director of social change strategies at Liberty Hill Foundation. She has also worked at Young Invincibles as the California director.

This lecture was sponsored by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC).

Watch the Lecture