As with transportation planning or economic development, you need to have good information to succeed in culturally competent planning. (If you’re not familiar with the concept, please read about it here first.)
Here are some of the key pieces of data that you should get for culturally competent planning. Some of them, such as data from the American Community Survey, Census and local school districts, you can get before you start a project. Other data you will have to find from observation. Some of the deepest level data you won’t know until you’re well into the project.
So unlike in transportation planning, in which you can predict confidently the amount of time you need for information gathering, your budget and scope for information gathering should be flexible.
Data you can and should get before a project starts
Most planners get surface-level data about diversity – ethnicity, income, age, etc. To be more culturally competent, you need to drill down in the American Community Survey (ACS) and Census (both found through American FactFinder). Some of the data to look for include:
*Ancestry – When people report their first or second ancestry, they are describing what cultures they feel connected to. Respondents have the option of saying their ancestry is “American.” But in states like New Jersey, more than 90% of residents identify themselves of being of other ancestries. This information is most helpful in culturally-based economic development. If a community has a larger percentage of a particular ethnicity than neighboring communities, that community has an asset that can help distinguish itself from its neighbors.
*Percentage foreign-born – This is an important set of data for both community and economic development.
*Language use and proficiency with English -- One of the clearest ways to get a sense of the diversity in a community is to see the number of people who speak a language other than English at home and those who report not speaking English well. ACS data also tell you what families of languages are spoken and by how many people. When the terms “White” and “African-American” are used, the implication is that these are native-born Americans. Language use data can help you learn how many people are culturally Eastern European or Haitian.
*Moved from – Some diverse communities are “ports-of-entry” – places where new immigrants go when they come to the United States. Others are “striver or stepstone communities” – places where immigrants and others move to when they are moving up – or down – in their finances. For small communities and neighborhoods, you will probably need to interview social service and religious entities to learn whether the place is a striver or a stepstone.
Depending on the size of the area you’re planning for, you can get more detailed tables from the census that can tell you, for example, if one ethnic population in the town is predominantly wealthy while another is predominantly poor. (You can probably tell this through observations, but numbers help make the story stronger.)
*Ethnic population densities – How integrated is the community you’re planning for? Check out data at the census tract level. Running correlation or chi-square analysis can help you see to what extent race, ethnicity and income levels are connected.
*Income by race and Hispanic origin – There are people who, when they hear the term “African-American” or “Latino,” think “low-income” and about the issues associated with poverty. Wealth among African-Americans and Latinos is growing – in some places faster than wealth among Whites. Showing the numbers can help in changing perceptions.
*Ethnicities of children in the school system and languages spoken by schoolchildren – In many cases, local schools are where you first see demographic changes in a community. Because public schools are professionally and morally obligated to serve children well, and work in hierarchical systems that value data, you can usually find good statistical information in the schools.
Data you can get by observation
*Retail/business mix in older and less-regulated commercial areas -- One of the surest signs that a particular ethnic or cultural group is growing in an area is the presence of several new businesses catering to that population. (A single business is not a good indicator, unless it is large – such as an international supermarket.)
*Cultural icons and architecture -- People tend to express their cultural identity through food, traditions, art and architecture. A drive or walk through a neighborhood can help you spot touchstones of cultural identity, such as azulejos in Portuguese-American areas and Virgin of Guadelupe statues in Mexican-American neighborhoods.
Data you can get while immersed in the project
*Representation at public meetings -- How well does the makeup of the people who attend the meetings reflect the makeup of the community? (Spoiler alert – it probably doesn’t. Middle and upper-middle income Non-Hispanic Whites and African-Americans are likely to be overrepresented in meetings, except in communities with a history of collaborative planning.) The less representative the meetings are, the more work you should put into other forms of public outreach, such as focus groups and community events.
*Cultural patterns – Patterns of behavior and polarization happen over time in response to social, political and economic conditions and tend to be maintained by people who benefit from these patterns. Finding out why things are the way they are, and why they haven’t changed, often requires asking some difficult and deep questions. You will need to establish a good deal of trust with your clients and audiences to get candid and useful answers.
To learn how to become a more culturally competent placebuilder, become a Leading from the Middle Fellow.
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