ABSTRACT
Planning for places currently composed of a complex mix of people requires something beyond inclusive exchange, or a focus only on empowering the under-represented. Because engagement in the planning process always runs the risk of being motivated by a desire for group self-preservation – protecting one group from another in ways that are not mutually reinforcing – something more strategic is required. To begin with, local government planners are needed to help jumpstart the process and help diverse groups come together, since diverse places are prone to apathy and low levels of collective efficacy. Neighborhood planning for social diversity should embrace difference and work to sustain it. Residents in diverse neighborhoods need to be engaged in the shared management of everyday issues. Some diverse places suffer from gentrification and displacement pressure, others suffer from disinvestment and decline. Policy and programmatic strategies are needed to find the right balance in either case.
