Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

APA Florida Statement on Aug. 26 Jacksonville Shooting

Planners Connect Communities and Can Help Elevate Voices

The recent violent and bigoted events across Florida are unsettling. We encourage our members to act during this crucial time to create a narrative and develop tools that elevate the voices of all residents. Options include revisiting zoning practices, land development codes, and historic preservation efforts to ensure the voices of forgotten residents left out of past decisions are folded into the planning and placekeeping efforts of today.

Are You Interested in Joining a Virtual Support Group?

The Professional Development and Workplace subcommittee of APA Florida’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee solicits members' input to measure interest in creating virtual interest and identity networking groups. The purpose of these groups is for planning professionals of similar social identities and backgrounds to gather, share, and support each other in their personal and professional lives. 

Virtual interest and identity networking groups examples include:

• Women Planners
• Planners close to retiring
• BIPOC Planners
• Planners with children
• LGBTQIA Planners
• Neurodiverse Planners
• Planners as caregivers

Please complete the one-question survey below if you are interested in the creation of virtual support groups, what groups you’d be interested in seeing created, and if there are any we have missed.

EDI Committee Implementation Update

The APA Florida Executive Committee created the APA Florida Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee in 2019 to develop and implement EDI initiatives for the chapter. This Chapter EDI Implementation Update reports progress to date, as well as contact information for APA Florida members/allied organizations to provide feedback and to engage with the EDI Committee’s efforts.

APA Florida Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee was created in 2019 to help develop a strategic diversity and inclusion plan for the Chapter, as directed by the member-adopted 2020 Strategic Operational Plan. After completing a member survey, the EDI Committee created the Chapter EDI Strategy, which includes an overview of member needs and perspectives and corresponding implementation tasks. APA’s Latinos and Planning Division, Planning and the Black Community Division, LGBTQ and Planning Division, and Women and Planning Division reviewed the draft Chapter EDI Strategy, which benefited from their expertise and comments. The Chapter EDI Strategy was approved by the Chapter’s Executive Committee in March 2021 and guides the EDI Committee’s initiatives. Download the Chapter EDI Strategy and an implementation update.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey Insights: Listening to You Forum

APA Florida’s Equity, Diversion and Inclusion (EDI) Committee is a convener and connector to engage and empower APA Florida members to act collectively and individually as change agents in service to people facing discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion.

The EDI Committee launched a survey to better understand the intersection of experiences and work of planners in Florida in relation to equity, diversity and inclusion. APA Florida expects to use the survey results as a means to initiate broader conversations and inform specific actions improving how a diverse profession serving diverse communities actively works to eliminate unconscious bias and systemic discrimination. This online forum includes:

• Presentation of survey results
• Panel discussion on survey insights; and
• Interactive discussion of ongoing concerns and the path forward.

Please watch the forum (embedded above) to learn about the findings and lend your voice to the effort to create a more equitable, more diverse, and more inclusive planning community in Florida.

Mission Statement

APA Florida celebrates equity, diversity, and inclusiveness and believe we can accomplish more through a genuine and authentic partnership with others and promote a commitment to excellence in service to Florida’s communities. We strive to make our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion integral to our organizational structure, policies, committees, staff, sponsors, goals, and vision. We want to engage people of all backgrounds and experiences and seek to foster a culture of respect, openness, learning, integrity, honesty and a sense of fun.

Contact the EDI

Want to join the EDI or have a question for them? Contact them here.