Texas urban planners should find creative ways to enhance the integration of new ideas, styles and family values in their practices, the participants in the Feb. 15 Latino Dialogo in Texas workshop at Texas A&M University concluded.
According to event chairwoman Cecilia Guisti, an assistant professor in urban planning, “Dialogo” participants also identified a “need to establish a more inclusive agenda, incorporating a culture that may be embraced by local communities.”
The one-day gathering drew a crowd of more than 100 attendees from throughout Texas, including professional planners, educators, government officials and others interested in Latino community development.
Hosted by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M, the workshop at Texas A&M’s Memorial Student Center was part of an ongoing effort led by the Latinos and Planning Division of the American Planning Association to shape the national planning agenda for Latino communities and Latino planners.
“Within the next five years, Latinos are projected to become the largest racial/ethnic group in Texas,” explained Giusti. “This event provided a unique opportunity to focus on special issues and challenges accompanying this shifting demographic. The topic was intentionally broad to encourage the participation of everyone with an interest in the Latino community and its burgeoning influence on Texas.”
Keynote speaker Edward Garza, former mayor of San Antonio, talked about how to improve communities with better planning and development strategies. He currently heads the San Antonio office of EDAW, Inc., a national landscape and development firm, and runs Urban One 30, a real estate company specializing in residential restoration projects in San Antonio.
A detailed report of the Latino Dialogo in Texas discussion and conclusions is currently being prepared and will be distributed to workshop participants and to the American Planning Association’s Latinos and Planning Division.
The report, defining a Latino agenda for planning in Texas, “should help define the national Latino planning agenda,” Giusti said.
Latino Dialogo in Texas was also sponsored by the College of Architecture and the Center for Housing and Urban Development at Texas A&M in partnership with the cities of Bryan and College Station, Texas and the Brazos Valley Council of Governments. Also joining in sponsorship were the Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and the Office of the Dean of Faculties at Texas A&M.
Keynote speaker Ed Garza, who heads the office of EDAW, Inc. and is a former mayor of San Antonio, was one of several speakers at Latino Dialogo in Texas.
Participants spent the day in roundtable sessions discussing Latino planning issues.
Jorge Vanegas, director of the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s Center for Housing and Urban Development, participates in a discussion.
