Diversity and Planning in Virginia A survey of the current context in partnership with APA Virginia’s Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee Presented by Mackenzie Jarvis, Judd Ullom and Professor Margaret Cowell July 20, 2015 APA Virginia Annual Conference – Norfolk, VA

How important is it to planners that their organization reflect the diversity of the population they serve?

Prior efforts to understand diversity in planning  2001: Lagging Behind: Ethnic Diversity in the Planning Profession in the APA New York Metro Chapter Area  2005: Increasing Diversity in the Planning Profession: A Report on the 2004 Minority Planning Summit and Recommendation for Future Action (APA Diversity Task Force)  2014: APA Wisconsin Chapter’s Diversity Initiative: Survey Results and Draft Report  2001: Lagging Behind: Ethnic Diversity in the Planning Profession in the APA New York Metro Chapter Area  2005: Increasing Diversity in the Planning Profession: A Report on the 2004 Minority Planning Summit and Recommendation for Future Action (APA Diversity Task Force)  2014: APA Wisconsin Chapter’s Diversity Initiative: Survey Results and Draft Report

The Survey  Commissioned by the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association  Conducted by a graduate-level planning studio at Virginia Tech  Completed by 320 planners (based on 1270 in state, de-facto response rate of 25%)  Commissioned by the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association  Conducted by a graduate-level planning studio at Virginia Tech  Completed by 320 planners (based on 1270 in state, de-facto response rate of 25%)

Demographics of Respondents; Age (20+) 56% of respondents are between the ages of 25 and 44 28% of people in the Commonwealth fall into the same range – anticipated overrepresentation of working-age adults, and underrepresentation of older Americans

Demographics of Respondents; Gender Respondents are nearly equal parts male and female This closely mirrors the population of the State Female; 48% Male; 51% I prefer not to answer; 1% Male; 49% Female; 51%

Demographics of Respondents; Sexual Orientation 7% of the respondents identify as LGBTQ Despite an overrepresentation of this minority, most respondents do not consider LGBTQ issues in planning endeavors ResponseVirginia General Population Survey Respondents Yes3%*7% No97%*92% I prefer not to answerN/A1% *The Movement Advancement Project reports this number as 2.9%

Demographics of Respondents; Disabilities Although only 2% of respondents identify as disabled, 65% of respondents believe we should incorporate the needs of this minority into planning decisions. ResponseVirginia General Population Survey Respondents Yes11%*2% No89%*97% I prefer not to answerN/A1% *American Community Survey Census data reports this number as 11%

Demographics of Respondents; Education 65% of respondents hold a Masters degree Respondents are 8 times more likely to hold a Masters degree than the general population

Demographics of Respondents; Ethnicity 76% of respondents are single ethnicity, Caucasian Ethnic Minorities are underrepresented

Demographics of Respondents; Ethnic Minorities

Demographics of Respondents; Organization Type Over 70% of respondents work in the public sector

Demographics of Respondents; Experience and Credentials 82% of respondents are members of an APA chapter 58% of respondents are AICP Certified

Perceptions: What should we do and what do we do? For every characteristic of diversity, the survey documented that respondents thought that organizations had a greater responsibility to address the issue than they believed was currently in practice

The importance of representativeness 1% 4% 38% 41% 14% 80% of respondents feel it is somewhat or very important that the diversity of a planning organization reflects the diversity of the population it serves. 19% are either ambivalent or do not think it’s important

Respondents reported engagement and outreach efforts as the most prevalent method of addressing diversity; communications a close second How our organizations incorporate diversity

Less talk, more action 57.6% of respondents reported adequate discussion of diversity in the profession However, this percentage fell by 14.8 points when asked whether the profession adequately addresses diversity

APA Virginia and the profession as a whole; addressing diversity 45% of respondents think APA Virginia is doing enough to address diversity; 43% think the profession as a whole does enough However, more respondents chose “I prefer not to answer” for this question than any other

Key Conclusions, Perceptions  The largest discrepancies between perceived organization responsibility and practice occur in: Sexual orientation, Gender and Disability.  However, in every characteristic, planners believe their organizations should do more to address the issues at hand  Planners perceive their organizations to most often use engagement and outreach efforts to incorporate diversity  Most Planners believe the profession discusses diversity adequately but addresses it insufficiently  More Planners find that APA Virginia address diversity adequately than does the profession as a whole  The largest discrepancies between perceived organization responsibility and practice occur in: Sexual orientation, Gender and Disability.  However, in every characteristic, planners believe their organizations should do more to address the issues at hand  Planners perceive their organizations to most often use engagement and outreach efforts to incorporate diversity  Most Planners believe the profession discusses diversity adequately but addresses it insufficiently  More Planners find that APA Virginia address diversity adequately than does the profession as a whole