Speaker
Description
Trauma-aware planning has emerged as a promising approach to addressing the spatial impacts of adverse events and processes, including climate change, natural disasters, war, and urban renewal. Theoretically rooted in equity planning, emotionally engaged planning, and reflective practice, it offers a transformative planning orientation aligned with the ethic of care. However, the concept remains nascent within planning literature, with limited theoretical cohesion and empirical grounding. Despite increasing interest, questions persist about its scope, applicability, and efficacy.
This paper explores the theoretical origins of trauma-aware planning, examining how trauma is defined and understood in planning literature and the implications for its application. Current examples of trauma-aware planning are discussed, highlighting their strengths and limitations. Key critiques include the lack of specific definitions and criteria for identifying trauma, scalability challenges (e.g., addressing collective trauma in small communities), and concerns about whether trauma-aware approaches fall within planning’s expected remit and resources. Further, there remains a notable gap in determining the efficacy of trauma-aware
planning approaches.
To address these critiques, the paper suggests the need for increased theoretical and empirical work to refine the concept and evaluate its practical impact. It proposes adopting a population health-inspired framework to guide the development of scalable, effective strategies. Finally, the paper explores how trauma-aware planning intersects with the ethic of care and may be used as a valuable tool for addressing complex social and spatial challenges in planning.
References
Indicative:
Berglund, Lisa, and Alexandra Kitson. 2021. ‘The Redevelopment of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children: A Case for Trauma-Informed Urban Planning Practices’. Planning Theory & Practice 22 (5): 671–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2021.1968476.
Corburn, Jason, Joseph Griffin, Brandon Harris, and David Padilla. 2023. ‘Co-Creating Places for Urban Health & Healing: The Case of Pogo Park’. Cities & Health 7 (6): 914–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2023.2230620.
Donovan, Jenny. 2012. ‘Designing to Heal; Reconstructing Communities after Disasters’. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Urban Design and Planning 165 (2): 69–77. https://doi.org/10.1680/udap.10.00009.
Draus, Paul, Dagmar Haase, Jacob Napieralski, Juliette Roddy, and Salman Qureshi. 2019. ‘Wounds, Ghosts and Gardens: Historical Trauma and Green Reparations in Berlin and Detroit’. Cities 93 (October):153–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.05.002.
Erfan, Aftab. 2017. ‘Confronting Collective Traumas: An Exploration of Therapeutic Planning’. Planning Theory & Practice 18 (1): 34–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2016.1249909.
| Keywords | Trauma-aware; trauma-informed; ethic of care |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
