Racial Justice

Los Angeles City Planning’s Racial Justice & Equity Commitment

Los Angeles City Planning aims to re-imagine land use planning by infusing dignity, racial justice, and equity into the Department’s operations, workplace culture, and the services it provides to Angelenos.

Racial Justice & Equity Commitment

At Los Angeles City Planning, equity is both a journey and destination. The goal is for all Angelenos to have access to quality housing, public space, and economic opportunity in order to reach their full potential regardless of racial or demographic characteristics. This means integrating practices that are racially and socially aware into the core of the Department’s operations, systems, and procedures to ensure planning has an equitable impact on our diverse community and staff.

The Department recognizes the historical impact of  discriminatory land use practices and exclusionary zoning which resulted in segregation, underinvestment, and health disparities that persist today. It is City Planning’s responsibility to take an active role in repairing the harm inflicted on these historically marginalized communities. This includes ensuring that the process of restoration is intentional, community-driven, and centered on the voices, needs, and leadership of those who were directly impacted.

Background on City Planning’s Equity Initiatives

The Office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Transformative Planning  (ORJETP) was created in June 2020 with the goal of acknowledging and redressing the legacy of discrimination and harm perpetuated by historical planning practices. In response to Executive Directive 27 of the Garcetti administration, City Planning appointed Principal City Planner Faisal Roble (now retired) to the position of Chief Equity Officer and created a dedicated racial equity office. The office was founded with three primary goals:

  • Apply a critical lens to planning, recognizing the influence of race on planning in Los Angeles and within the profession.
  • Acknowledge the Department’s role in perpetuating discriminatory planning practices and develop more equitable practices.
  • Create a Strategic Plan that focuses on fostering racial justice and equity within the workforce and developing equitable policies to better serve communities.

To center equity within the Department,  the ORJETP formed a biweekly steering committee and advanced several internal equity initiatives to promote workplace safety, cultural awareness, and professional development. These efforts focused on transforming workplace culture through staff-informed recommendations and led to the development of a Strategic Equity Framework. The framework provides a foundation for embedding racial equity into the core of the Department’s operations to foster transformative land use and zoning solutions.

In addition to advancing workplace equity initiatives, the ORJETP  served as a centralized office to ensure alignment of the Department’s equity priorities. The ORJETP worked with the City Planning Commission (CPC) over two years to draft an equity values statement to ground its decision making for the projects and policies it evaluates. In addition, the ORJETP unit coordinated with the Housing Policy team and the Office of Historic Resources (OHR) to evaluate policies affecting communities of color and other historically impacted groups.

ORJETP & Budget Update

In June 2025, following a difficult budget process, funding for the Office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Transformative Planning (ORJETP) was not renewed for the 2025-26 fiscal year. While this development brings the formal structure of the ORJETP to a close, it does not end the Los Angeles City Planning’s commitment to advancing equity within the Department. City Planning will continue to support efforts championed by ORJETP through new and existing channels.

  • Create a new planning paradigm by addressing institutional practices and systems that have caused harm, using zoning and land use as tools for repair and equity
  • Center the voices, needs, and leadership of communities that have been historically excluded and harmed by planning decisions
  • Change the structure and culture of decision making
  • Use community action to support those who have been harmed

Within the Department, a transformative approach translates to internal policies and procedures that lead to all staff feeling valued and a sense of belonging within the workplace. In the communities of Los Angeles, a transformative approach reinvisions the land use policies and zoning tools that led to inequitable distributions of housing, transportation and access across the city. 

Looking Ahead

The ORJETP remains committed to equitable zoning and land use solutions that foster thriving, resilient communities for everyone, while centering communities historically harmed by planning practices. Equity will continue to inform the Department’s policies, practices, and decision-making processes and staff will work cooperatively to center racial equity in all aspects of their work.

Racial Justice & Equity Resources

CPC Equity Values Statement

Workplace Safety 
Workplace Safety Values Statement
Toolkit

Cultural Competency
Inclusive Planning Terminology Guide

 

 

Collaborations

During the fall of 2022, the Office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Transformative Planning helped facilitate a special meeting with the City Planning Commission (CPC) to memorialize the CPC’s work on equity and mark the CPC’s two-year collaboration with the Office. The CPC held an in-person special meeting at which they ratified a Value Statement that will serve as a living, guiding principle to center future decision-making on planning-related projects and policies around the Department’s commitment to equity.

Equitable planning demands that race does not determine whether or not one thrives in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Planning Commission prioritizes a planning process that centers the needs of those most harmed by systemic racism. Our goal is the creation of affordable, prosperous, resilient and healthy communities where all Angelenos experience the feeling that they belong.
– City Planning Commission’s Value Statement

 

Messages of Solidarity
 

City Planning strives to treat everyone with respect and dignity, standing alongside its communities against acts of hatred in all forms.