FOREWORDRESILIENCY, RACIAL JUSTICE AND REAL-TIME PLANNING

Like many professional disciplines locally and nationally, the events of the spring and summer of 2020 have given rise to reflection and intentionality within transportation planning professionals at the City of Minneapolis. The team involved with creating this plan have taken pause to listen, understand, and reflect upon the role this document and how the strategies and actions it contains impacts the lives of all people who use our streets and how it reflects, upholds, or stands against institutional racism.

Several concrete changes have been made to the process and content of this plan, reflecting a deeper commitment to racial justice and providing for all people in Minneapolis, with a specific focus on equity and our city’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color. These changes reflect a deep commitment from the City of Minneapolis to ensure our actions create more just outcomes for all people in the city, and outcomes are not predictable by race.

Planning is not a static process, as the spring and summer of 2020 have highlighted. The TAP includes several key elements that address changes in our city, and the world, post-COVID and post-George Floyd.

• Additional narrative on how the TAP connects with the City’s Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan;
• Updates to narrative and actions to better highlight commitments around racial equity and justice; and
• An expanded Progress section, including strategies and actions on a framework for racial justice, engagement, and evaluation.