This document discusses planning for intercultural cities. It defines cultural competency as the ability to interact effectively with other cultures and an awareness of other cultures. Tools for developing cultural competency include listening, understanding other belief systems, embracing other cultures, developing conflict resolution skills, and diversity training. A case study describes issues that arose when the Massachusetts Audubon Society took over a community garden in Mattapan, MA that was primarily used by African American, Caribbean, and Haitian residents. Lessons learned include the importance of listening, getting to know the local community, and cultural competence being essential for well-planned diverse cities.
4. Defining Cultural Competency
Ability to interact effectively with people of
other cultures, and;
An awareness of other cultures
Cultures can be centered around race, ethnicity, identification
with a country or place of origin, neighborhood, ways of doing
or being, etc.
5. Tools
Listening…
Willingness to understand and/or embrace other
cultures
Try to understand belief systems, habits, and typical
behaviors
Embrace other cultures without trying to change them
“Lean” into some of the discomfort that arises from cross
cultural difference
Developing skill sets to interact with other cultures
“Get to Yes”: develop conflict resolution and negotiation skills
Facilitation training
6. Tools Cont’d
Diversity training
o Should include study of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, class, poverty, equity, age, ability/disability, social
justice, inclusion, and religion
o Understanding how you/your organizational culture can
impact individuals and groups
7. Case Study
Boston Nature Center, Mattapan, MA 02126
Background
Local Population: primarily African-American, Caribbean, and
Haitian, with a smaller mix of Latino, Caucasian, Indian and
Asian.
Average Home Value: $148,000, lower than the Boston-
Cambridge-Quincy metro area as a whole.
Median age is 34.4
Average Income is $38,581
Study Area
• BNC and BNC Community Gardens
• Total site = 75 acres in heart of Mattapan
• Contains the largest community garden in US at one time: approx.
500 gardeners
8. Case Study cont’d
Garden organization has been in place for over 20
years
Board like structure with President, Treasurer, and
three other officers
Gardeners paid annual fee of $20/year
9. Issues
MAS as “outside” organization
Lack of knowledge of MAS core mission and values
MAS desire to have a truly urban site for all the right
reasons
MAS as new landowner
Uncertainty about where $$ from gardeners were
going; difficult for MAS not to understand this issue
on its newly acquired property
Perceptions of me as a representative of MAS/outside
organization
With gardeners approval, MAS made all plots 20 x 20
and added water service
10. Lessons Learned
Even if you are ostensibly a member of a cultural group you are working
with, you may have something to learn
Listen, listen, listen…
Take the time to get to know those you’re working with: have meals
together, research something about their history and ask about it, learn
their language
11. Conclusion
If, as Jennifer Chin has noted, ‘planners have a “special
responsibility to plan for the needs of the
disadvantaged and to promote racial and economic
integration” ’, then moving toward cultural
competence is essential to well-planned cities and
suburbs of the future. This is especially true given the
current paradigm shift that more than half of all
persons of color residing in metro areas actually living
in suburbs, and that the country will become
Majority/Minority by 2042.
Editor's Notes
Interculturalism implies that we plan with and not just for our diverse communities and that we actively engage with managing differences in our practice
We conducted research this spring to understand whether the concept of cultural competency, frequently applied in the field of public health, has found its place in planning curricula
I give an overview of what culturally competent planning is, share highlights from our study’s findings, and discuss its implications for the future