Equity and social justice are core values at the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning (USP), and are suffused throughout our graduate and undergraduate programs, where we continuously engage with equity and social justice-related issues. It is embedded in our research and teaching in many ways.
Here are a few highlights we are proud of:
- Our MURP program is the leading program in the United States for equity planning and racial justice. Equity and social justice is one of the primary MURP student learning outcomes and embedded across the curriculum. Equity and social justice are also key values in the BA/BS Community, Urban Studies and Planning; and PhD Urban Studies programs.
- Support from the Portland Planning Diversity Award and Tony Lamb Racial Justice Fellowship Fund makes it easier for students from under-represented backgrounds to attend our MURP program.
- Our faculty pursue research investigating theories and approaches to equity planning, as well as issues of houselessness, gentrification, climate justice, food justice, and more. Check out some of our recent publications here.
- Our faculty lead research centers, like Dr. Marisa Zapata at the Homelessnes Research and Action Collaborative and Dr. Jennifer Dill at the Transportation Research and Education Center, that have equity and social justice as core research motivations and values.
- We engage with local community leaders and organizations to advance equity and social justice. Our faculty serve on advisory boards, like Dr. Matthew Gebhardt on Home Forward and Dr. Megan Horst on the Portland Clean Energy Fund Advisory Committee, on nonprofit boards, like Dr. Kacy McKinney at Sisters of the Road, and as partners, like Dr. Lisa Bates who regularly collaborates with Community Alliance of Tenants. Check out our individual faculty pages.
- Our students engage in community collaborations and research that advance equity and social justice, too- check out past MURP Workshops, MUS theses and PhD dissertations, and the BA/BS CUSP Student Work Gallery.
- The Belonging, Dignity and Justice Committee (BDJ) led diversity, equity and inclusion-related goals and strategies in our School until 2023, when we moved to an integrated model that added BDJ-focused reps to each of the School’s academic program committees See more about the work of BDJ below.
About the Toulan School Belonging, Dignity and Justice (BDJ) Committee
From 2018-2023, the Toulan School hosted a Belonging, Dignity and Justice (BDJ) Committee (formerly known as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee). It was a collective of faculty and students that collaborated to identify, contest, and dismantle systems, practices and policies that perpetuate oppression (including white supremacy, anti-Blackness, colonialism, ableism and sexism, and the intersections among these) as they show up in our School and broader community.
The main areas in the committee worked on include recruitment and support of students from systemically oppressed backgrounds and identities; enhancing faculty capacity and accountability in advancing equity and social justice; collaborating with program committees to deepen attention to equity and social justice in curriculum and other student-facing activities; prioritizing equity and social justice in school administration, budgeting, and decision-making, and engaging with other university actors such as CUPA, Admin, GDI, Faculty Senate and AAUP.
In Fall 2024, the School moved to a distributed model for the BDJ committee, with each program’s executive committee (Undergrad, MURP, and Urban Studies) having a BDJ-focused student representative and faculty lead. With this model, we continue our efforts to live our values as a School.
Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to provide feedback on their experiences and ideas related to Belonging, Dignity, and Justice, to the program committee or to the School Director. Students are especially encouraged to contact their student representatives.
Other Resources
See the resources and reporting page.