It is our shared responsibility as planning and transportation professionals to create a welcoming environment for the next generation of practitioners. Much of our professional success is credited to the patience of mentors for offering wisdom and guidance when needed. In encountering a young person who feels so sure and purpose-driven in their professional path, we must create opportunities and space for them to vocalize their ideas.
In speaking with Jaloni Fry, a student pursuing her Masters at the University of New Orleans in Urban Planning, there’s so much value in hearing her reflect on her lived experience as a Black woman in the South and her role as a community builder. As you read and listen to the interview with Jaloni, it may be a nice moment to sit back and count the small (and not-so-small) ways that you further propelled to be in this industry. Our full conversation is on the Cityfi blog.
Q: How did you find yourself pursuing an urban planning degree? What events led you here?
A: There’s a lot of different family lore that contributes. A long time ago in the 1940s, I had a great uncle in Amite County, Mississippi who was threatened out of land. He was stolen from. I was thinking, “Oh, so that’s why we don’t have that land anymore?” So then it was about trying to figure out real estate because I wanted to be a real estate lawyer. But law school did not work out and the experience was not for me. I started wondering where else I could go. I was talking to my dad about it and he said, “You always bring up different neighborhoods and what’s included and why certain neighborhoods have certain characteristics…maybe look up the name of that profession that you keep talking to me about?” I then started doing research and went to this tik-tok from this woman named Britt (@signedbritt). She showed a “Day in the Life of an Urban Planner” explaining the job and it was everything I wanted to know and was interested in…it just went off from there.
Q: She would probably love to hear that she converted someone into studying planning full-time. This ties into our second question. What media such as books, movies, and documentaries were your intro into this field?
A: I just finished the Color of Law. I annotated it. So that was the first one. I started Just Action, but I decided to put books down for a sec and listen to some podcasts. I found Good Traffic by Brad Biehl and Urban Planning is Not Boring by Samantha Ellman and Natalie Ikhrata. Both of them are great. It’s so insightful. It’s good to hear different ideas and just to kind of see how everyone else is thinking.
Q: What are your goals as a future planner?
A: I’m really into community development. That’s really what I like to do. I currently do community service at a high school. I do 15 hours a week. I just love being in the office and helping them with paperwork and just talking to students. It’s just so mind-blowing how just a few hours every week can change, you know, the course of someone’s life. And then there’s a local coffee shop no one knew about. I went in and I posted it on my social media and he said he got, like, 50 more customers. It makes me feel good to see other people in my community. And so for me, it’s going in, doing the work, and making everyone come together, and supporting each other. That’s the biggest thing when it comes to urban planning and my purpose.
Q: Being a community builder is such a difficult, complicated task. I am sincerely hopeful that it’s something that you excel in. There’s a lot of opportunity there. And just these examples that you’ve provided, it [community building] comes naturally to you. And I think you get a thrill from giving back. That’s really, really sweet. So what do you think the primary obstacles are to, you know, young people like you getting into this field?
A: Know what it is? I know in the state of Louisiana, there’s only one Urban Planning program and that’s in one college and in New Orleans. It’s not everywhere. It’s not really a lot of programs available except in certain states. I will say that people just might not know about it. I’m sure if more people knew about this job and what it was and what it took, I’m sure if more people knew about it, they would pursue it.
Q: We talked about your grandfather, but can you tell me do you know if there’s a policy that you can point to that resulted in his land being stolen? Or was it just like usual white supremacy just the usual white supremacy?A: It was definitely the usual white supremacy. I will say my grandfather died in 2012 or 2013, I would hear stories about how his little communities came together. And they are all self-reliant on each other. My grandfather owned acres and acres of land and he would provide food for people. He was a minister. So he would provide food for his whole community. They would barter and they would trade….and they have been doing that for a long time. It has not changed. Now, my grandmother will drive down the street to her neighbor and go get some green beans and in return give some potatoes or some lemons or something. They are just so self-sufficient. I know a community can be like that because I’ve actually been in that community because a lot of those folks are family members or family friends.
Q: It seems like you were born to do this. Like there is no alternative. I think it’s really fascinating the kind of ways that our professions are kind or our “purpose” is embedded very early on. It’s very fascinating and I hope that you continue to reflect upon those steps as you get further and further into your career.
A: Oh, yeah! A lot of family members of mine, they are all working in communities as teachers, ministers, counselors, nurses! Everyone works in some type of career that is community-based.
Q: What questions do you have for existing urban planning professionals?A: How did you come across urban planning? How did you start working in this field? How was the grad school experience? If there is anything you wish you did, what would have that been? Why is community development such a complex field? What is something that you would change immediately about cities, if you could? When walking through cities, do you reimagine what the layout would look like? How has your experience been in urban planning in the 21st century? What is the greatest challenge in urban planning, based on your experience?
If you’re interested in connecting with Jaloni Fry and offering her words of support or answering some of her questions, she can be reached on LinkedIn or via email.
