Tips for arguing respectfully and productively

Tips for civil disagreement

It’s unfortunate that it takes a tragedy to get so many people in the United States talking about the kind of language we use in policy and strategy arguments. Here are some tips that can help professionals engage in arguments that are more likely to be both civil and productive.


• Focus on the topic, not the person. Personal attacks rarely get the other person to change their views or behaviors. More often, they get met with other personal attacks or angry silence – neither of which helps.

• Know that the argument may be about more than the thing being argued. In a community that has been abused or ignored by previous developers, a community’s opposition to a proposed land use might be more about anger with developers than with the proposal. If an argument is generating more emotion than would seem reasonable, there’s probably more there that you need to explore.

• Do not assume you know the person’s motivation. When someone makes a personal attack, it is sometimes because that person thinks he or she knows what lies behind the other person’s objections.

• Seek to understand before seeking to be understood. Make sure you’re hearing the other person correctly. (One way is to put the person’s comments in your own language and saying something like “did I get that right?”) If you’re getting it right, but the other person isn’t, ask the person if you could clarify your remarks. (Don’t say anything like “Did you understand what I just said.” That can sound patronizing.)

• Understand the other person's logic and the reasons for their emotions. Too many professionals think that others reject their ideas because they don't understand them.  In other words, if the professional could "teach" opponents about a strategy, the opponents would agree with the planner.  The problem is sometimes the professional's education -- he or she hasn't learned enough about their audience's perspectives and mindsets.  Most reasonable people make rational decisions according to their own views of the world.

• Use a zipper strategy – find the areas of agreement and build up from there. In most communities and organizations, people want many of the same things. Talking about what they agree on can help opponents think of themselves more as collaborators than enemies, and build creative solutions that neither group thought of before.

• Acknowledge your areas of newfound agreement. You can do this formally in contracts, or informally through reminders in future conversations.

• Be confident, courageous and creative. There are times when avoiding an argument might be a good short-term strategy. But avoidance over time usually leads to frustration, and eventually more problems. Have the courage to both present your views and be willing to consider those of the other person. Be creative enough to collaborate with your opponent and see solutions that neither of you initially imagined.

• Give, and request to get, respect for your opponent's views. If you refuse to acknowledge another's views, you can not get to a point where you can understand the person.  (Hearing enough just to beat down an argument doesn't count.)  It's also important that you speak from a position of strength by asking others to understand your views.


All of the above assume that the participants are willing to listen to one another and are, for the most part, honest. Sometimes this isn’t the case. In those circumstances – and you should test your understandings to know if you’re in those circumstances – you might need to take more aggressive (but not violent) approaches. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we celebrate Monday, knew there were times when a loud demonstration worked better than a quiet conversation.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

Catalytic leaders need to be seen to be heard

Leaders don't need to stand on soapboxes, ride white horses, or be at the front of the line to be effective.  Good leaders use the quiet conversation and strategic questions as much, or even more than, the "big speech."  But one thing all leaders need is to be present.  Or more specifically, to be visible to their audiences.  Technology makes it easier for even the busiest people to be more visible leaders.

Leaders succeed when they convince others about the value of a goal and persuade them to act on those beliefs. The most successful leaders inspire and motivate audiences to commit their time and resources to a mission.  But you have to practice what you preach.  If you're not seen as being committed and willing to put in the same time and energy that you ask of others, you will lose credibility quickly.

You may have big ideas, but they have to hear them from you.  You may be working hard on a project, but they have to see you working hard.  If you're seen as invisible or out of touch, audiences lose their motivation quickly.

Audiences also get distracted easily.  A lot of things call for the attention of our audiences.  The busier your audiences are, the less space they have on their internal radar screens.  The leader who pops up a few times a year to give a motivational speech probably shouldn't even bother.

For most of his career, Edward Blakely has been one of the busiest urban planners in the United States. He is one of the leading thinkers on local economic development, an active land developer, and has been an advisor to presidents of the United States and big city mayors.  Yet, when he was Dean of a graduate school at The New School, he made time to attend the staff birthday and going away parties. His being at these events was a symbolic gesture to demonstrate that Ed cared about the staff.  In universities, where staff are often seen as second-class citizens, this is important.

Being more visible is especially important when you're building or revitalizing a community around a mission.  According to the Tuckman Theory of Group Development, people in the beginning look to a strong central leader for direction and guidance.  This is the time when the leader needs to be most visible.  If it means holding monthly meetings where the leader is sitting with one or two people, so be it.  Over time, people are more likely to see the visibility as a sign of commitment and consistency, and will be more likely to be involved  (if the mission is right for them.)

What are the best ways to become more visible?

• Sometimes you need to hold more meetings.  We're told that "everybody hates meetings."  But what most people hate are the meetings that are seen as time-wasters.  A meeting to present what someone can read in a report is a time-waster.  A "team building" exercise for a group that is working well together is a time waster.  The more people can get what they want out of a meeting, the more they will enjoy it.  What do people want?  Depending on the person or the circumstance, it could be getting solutions to problems, the chance to be heard, knowledge on something that will affect their jobs or lives, or opportunities to build connections with other busy people.  If you're trying to motivate staff, have meetings where more time is spent on brainstorming than reporting.  If you're trying to motivate volunteers, have guest speakers or discussion topics in the same meetings where you talk about projects.
• Also hold events.  Even in the most casual places, meetings often have formalities and protocols that can make some people uncomfortable.  One way to get audiences to connect with one another -- a key to building social action -- is to hold events that are fun and relaxed.  Turn one of the weekly breakfast meetings into an afternoon coffee hour.  
• Connect to your audiences through email at least once a month. Free group software and commercial email marketing providers (PDI uses Constant Contact) make it easier for you to stay connected with your audiences.  You don't need to be inspiring every time.  You can write about something in the news, and how it connects to your mission.  You can give kudos to someone who has gone above and beyond.  As long as what you write connects to the mission and values of your group, feel free to be creative.
• Try social networking. Blogs and social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn aren't just for narcissists and pundits.  They are a great way for people who are separated by time and distance to connect to one another.  When it is impractical for community members to be together in person often, social networking sites can help to hold a community together.

--Leonardo  Vazquez, AICP/PP

Would you like to build your leadership skills?  Become a Leading from the Middle Fellow.  Learn more here.

Useful measures for culturally competent planning

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.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

To learn how to become a more culturally competent placebuilder, become a Leading from the Middle Fellow.  

Planning for the growing wealth of diversity in the United States

As the United States gets more diverse, ethnic and racial minorities are controlling more wealth.  That has some significant implications for placebuilding in the 21^st century.

A multicultural shopping district along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, New York. (Image found through Creative Commons search.  Photo credit: Vidiot)

According to The Multicultural Economy 2010 by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, ethnic and racial minorities together hold about $2.6 trillion in buying power, or 23% of the $11.1 trillion in buying power in the United States.  Buying power in “multicultural economy,” as the report calls it, is growing rapidly.  In 2000, the report estimated, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and people of mixed races held about 19.7% of the nation’s buying power.  The group with the biggest rise in buying power is Latinos.  In real dollars, the buying power of Latinos rose from $633 billion in 2000 to $1 trillion in 2010.

These trends could have a significant impact in how placebuilders approach such issues as place-based economic development, cultural heritage tourism, housing and circulation planning, and community building. In addition to creating new opportunities, the rise of the multicultural economy can also challenge placebuilders to change their practices.

For example: Ethnically-based economic development strategies can help revitalize commercial districts that are seeing more empty spaces as more people shop online.   Attracting businesses that cater to members of a large or growing ethnic group in the area can create a more loyal shopping base.  Eventually, as with so many Little Italys or Chinatowns, successful business districts can attract cultural visitors, whose wealth would attract more businesses.

Sounds easy? It’s not.  Small, independent businesses tend to be more fragile than established chains and franchises.  Expect to get tense responses from businesses and residents from other communities, especially those that are losing political or economic power in the community.   And the new ethnic communities will want their values and aesthetics represented.  The design guidelines meant to make the town square look like a Norman Rockwell painting may need to be revisited – or scrapped.

So if you’re a placebuilder in this community, you might be doing more business assistance than pro formas, more conflict management than market analysis, and rethinking the ideas about prescriptive urban design.

Placebuilders should also work to avoid ethnic pride becoming ethnic exclusion.  With a few exceptions, most ethnic commercial districts probably would not prosper in the long-term if they are perceived to be hostile to outsiders.  Many businesses rely on at least some revenue coming from outside of the area.   Those that don’t benefit from having neighbors that get good foot traffic.   From a community development perspective, these ethnic districts will work better if they work more as gateways among cultures than as barriers. 

In most parts of the country, African-Americans and Latinos tend to have lower median household incomes than Non-Hispanic Whites and Asian-Americans.  So a strategy to build on African-American or Latino wealth could mean increasing housing densities and managing greater demands on roads and public transportation. 

While there are a number of successful African-American and Latino commercial districts geared to working-class communities, the growing number of high-earning minority households creates opportunities to build more upscale ethnic districts.  There are restaurants, boutiques and other businesses that serve these markets, and could help anchor these districts.

Another strong anchor is a set of public art, stores, restaurants and services (such as a music school) that is rooted in the arts and culture of the communities being celebrated.

But here again there are challenges.  The strategy will probably work best in areas with large ethnic or cultural populations with struggling commercial areas.  But it would likely involve gentrification of some streets, which could make placebuilders vulnerable to charges of elitism.

But there’s a good community building argument for having some wealthy ethnic districts.  What message do low-income African-Americans, Latinos or other ethnic minorities get when they see wealth exclusively in what they would call “White” neighborhoods?  Does this message help build the confidence and pride that lead residents to want to strengthen their neighborhoods?  Or does the message encourage those most capable to leave – and take their financial, social and creative capital with them?   

New Jersey is one of several states that are getting both wealthier and more diverse – and much of the growing wealth is due to diversity.  According to the Selig Center, total buying power (in real dollars) grew 19% between 2000 and 2010.  Only 7% of that was due to the growing wealth of non-Hispanic Whites.   Ethnic minorities in 2010 have about 27% of the state’s $399 billion in buying power.

At least 32 of the state’s 566 municipalities are potential ethnic or multi-cultural power centers.  These communities are either “majority-minority” or are have no predominant ethnic group.  With the exception of major urban centers like Newark, Jersey City or Camden, many of these municipalities are caught in the middle between large centers that have more resources and get more attention from decisionmakers and suburban areas that have more wealth.   These power centers can benefit from ethnic-oriented economic and community development that could attract attention and dollars.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

The troubles with city planning? For one: long plans

In The Trouble with City Planning, former New Orleans planning director Kristina Ford challenges planners to rethink their normal practices by highlighting the failures of city planning there after Hurricane Katrina.  One of the biggest problems she sees:  plans are unclear and confusing to the people who are supposed to use them. 

The kind of complex, richly- detailed plans that would get an A in a studio course are the kinds routinely ignored by decision makers and communities we try to influence.  The #1 job of a plan is to influence how decision makers act.  If it is not used, it is by definition useless.

Many plans are just too long, take too long to speak to the readers needs, and have too many details in their text.  This makes them a chore for elected officials, developers and community decision-makers.   Plans should provide focus and direction.  When they say too much, or try to make everyone happy, they fail.   Consider the 2004 Master Plan for Maplewood Township, New Jersey.  It recommends 17 “key objectives” which should be given “equal weight.”  Some of them, such as providing affordable housing to young families and promoting housing that would not have an impact on the school system, are practically impossible to achieve at the same time.  Some objectives are specific – such as promoting the town’s cultural center – while others are just vague aspirations – such as “preserve and enhance the general sense of community.”  Oh, and you don’t even get to these goals until page 15.  

Plans that proved to be more effective was the Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program (CCRP) Plans for the South Bronx in the early 1990s.  These neighborhood plans helped to generate millions of dollars in new investment and accelerate slow-going revitalization efforts.  Today, the South Bronx is facing an issue that was too many unthinkable 20 years ago – gentrification.

By the way, the CCRP plans were written by the same firm that did the Maplewood Master Plan.  I couldn't find an publicly-available online copy of the CCRP plans, but you can read about the plans' impacts.

CCRP lasted two years and each of the plans were short – around 30 to 40 pages.  They were written in plain English, and had a few simple statistics and intentionally cartoonish diagrams.  If they were submitted for a planning studio course today, they probably would have gotten a failing grade.  But they were read and used by the community development corporations in those neighborhoods. (I worked for one of them).  The CCRP plans provided clear guidelines for community leaders and developers to follow.

To be fair, it was the process, rather than the documents themselves, that generated enthusiasm among decision-makers.  But that’s true of every planning process.  What was different about the CCRP plans is that they provided clear guidance to leaders – and could more easily be shared with potential partners, funders and investors.

Another effective plan, by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, helped to further the city’s growth as an arts and cultural heritage tourism destination.  Extending the Vision for South Broad Street branded this place as an “avenue of the arts.”  Today, South Broad is developing into a district for high-end performing and visual arts.

The plan, which by design looks and reads more like a coffee-table book than a policy document, was quietly criticized by some professionals – especially engineers – as not being serious enough.   But it worked.

It’s not just an issue of length.  Sometimes plans have to be long, especially if they might be subject to legal scrutiny because they advocate eminent domain or strategies that might reduce property values in an area.  But the best plans – such as the CCRP or Broad Street plans – make their points quickly and clearly, and use just enough statistical information and graphics to strengthen their points.  

Long plans by their nature are intimidating. Ford talks about a string of long plans for New Orleans, including the Unified New Orleans Plan that would run to 2,000 pages.  As much as I enjoy reading plans, I would want to be paid to look at something that immense.  You can imagine how the stressed and overworked decision-maker would look at such a document.

So how to make a plan that both your elected officials would want to read and the wonky naysayers would find credible?  Split the plan into at least two parts. 

The first part contains the executive summary, a statement of goals (please, no more than 10), a set of strategies to reach the goals, just enough detail to indicate why the goals and strategies are important and reasonable, and images that can illustrate ideas more efficiently than can be done in print.   Think of the busiest person you know, and write this part of the plan for that person.  If you go over 50 pages, go back and see what you can cut.

The rest of the plan can be appendix items with as much detail and statistics as you’d like.  Nobody other than a researcher, lawyer or critic is going to read this part.  So, make sure your facts are straight and don’t sweat the writing.

But always remember: the ability of the plan to influence decision-makers depends more on the planner’s powers of persuasion than the ideas in the plan.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

The Professional Development Institute and The Leading Institute offer several courses to help planners become more convincing and persuasive.  These include Professional’s Writing Studio, a Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program Deep Learning course, and Leading from the Middle, a leadership development program for placebuilders.