In Spring 2025, two graduate Community Planning Studios - Synthesis Studio and Urban Design Studio, led by Dr. Binita Mahato, partnered with the City of York in Sumter County, Alabama, as part of the Planning in Black-Belt Alabama Project. The Project aimed to provide essential planning services to a black belt community in Alabama that lacks planning departments and needs planning services, and to connect them with potential partners and stakeholders and grant opportunities. The project also aimed to raise awareness of planning education and practice in underserved and marginalized communities and provide planning students a hands-on learning experience dealing with real-world planning issues through community involvement.

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The project focused on the topics of economic and community development and urban design. Students examined the historical background and context of the Black-Belt Region in Alabama, collaborated with the city to comprehend and pinpoint the planning challenges within the community, and gathered both primary and secondary data to assess the identified issues quantitatively and qualitatively. They identified the planning challenges, established guiding principles and values, formulated a vision, mission, goals, and objectives, analyzed various possibilities through a series of planning analyses, crafted actionable strategies, plans, and proposals, outlined implementation tactics, explored funding options, and presented their findings through posters and reports to the city.

 

The project was funded by the Daniel F. Breeden Endowed Grant Program to assist students in their travel to York and to conduct two community engagement workshops. These workshops aimed to involve community groups and city officials in the planning stages, collect community feedback on identifying significant challenges, and engage residents in reviewing and commenting on the proposed plans. The initiative concluded with a Community Open House on Friday, May 2, 2025, where the students showcased their final plans to the mayor, city officials, and other community members and residents.