University of Oklahoma assistant professor of Regional & City Planning Dr. C. Aujean Lee has partnered with Dr. John Arroyo from the University of Oregon to explore issues of race in COVID-19 government messaging.
The pandemic revealed the problems of ignoring long-term systemic racism in multiple facets: public health, policing, job security, hate crimes, access to services, and other areas. Lee and Arroyo have been analyzing government websites and public statements related to COVID-19 to understand how and when these sites and municipalities talk about race.
Dr. Lee has discovered that government agencies and municipalities have largely ignored racial disparities related to COVID-19. When the government issued statements about discrimination, they used color-blind language.
Planners may not directly address racial disparities because they do not want to reinforce racial differences. However, by ignoring inequities, planners are unable to come up with solutions to improve resident outcomes. This project is part of her ongoing work on how planning can promote anti-racist policies and work to create and sustain more equitable cities.
Dr. Lee hopes that planners in the future will be able to have conversations about race so as to avoid waiting for large public unrest to deal with these consequences.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
