A Retrospective View of Equity Planning - Cleveland 1969-1979

From 1969 to 1979, under three administrations which could not have been more different, the Cleveland City Planning Commission worked in a highly visible way to achieve equity objectives. During this period, advocacy planning became less of a hortatory theory than a tangible effort undertaken within the system and directed toward, and achieving, real ends. On given issues, the Cleveland planners publicly challenged some of our favorite urban nostrums, and they not only survived, but prospered.

This article discusses that period and estimates the impact that the work of the Cleveland planners had on various issues and on the mayors they served. Its conclusions may be useful for planners and others interested in applying their own models of responsible planning and redistributive justice.