Photo Credit: Shae Yearwood
I had the honour of narrating the School of Cities documentary, Nothing For Us, Without Us: Anti-Black Racism in Canadian City Planning. The full film is now available on YouTube, where you'll discover the challenges, opportunities, and communities working to make our cities more inclusive, vibrant, and just.

This docuseries delves into how anti-Black racism has been embedded in Canadian urban development, renewal, and gentrification policies. It emphasizes the exclusion of Black businesses, organizations, and leaders from decision-making processes, leading to an unequal distribution of services and resources. The series highlights how the reluctance to acknowledge anti-Black racism in urban planning creates the illusion that systemic injustices do not exist. It also explores the impact of real estate capitalism on displacing Black communities and showcases how Black leaders and organizations in Canada are creating space and opportunities for Black and marginalized communities to thrive.

Launch Event


In addition, I had the pleasure of joining a panel discussion with the city-builders featured in the film—Mapfumo Chidzonga, Kofi Hope, Cheryll Case, and Leighana Mais—hosted by Jamilla Mohamud in February 2023. We discussed insights from the movie, explored approaches for a more inclusive city-building sector, and celebrated the hard work of Black communities across the country in preserving their cultures and advocating for more inclusive policies and opportunities for future generations. This quote from Mapfumo Chidzonga from the event captures the essence of our discussion:
“Our collective effort to shed light on the systemic challenges of anti-Black racism in city planning is a testament to the power of collaborative action and community engagement.”

Photo Credit: Shae Yearwood

Photo Credit: Shae Yearwood

Photo Credit: Shae Yearwood

Photo Credit: Shae Yearwood

Watch the Video



Movie Description:
Black communities in Canada have been marginalized and undervalued by the planning and design of cities. The SofC docuseries 'Nothing for us, without us' explores the ways that anti-Black racism is embedded in the policies and practices of urban development, renewal and gentrification. Using Hogan’s Alley in Vancouver, Africville in Halifax, and Little Jamaica in Toronto as examples, it argues that Black businesses, organizations and leadership are missing from the rooms where planning decision are made, resulting in the unequal distribution of services and resources in urban areas.   

Nothing for us without us is a film by Ricardo Lopez-McDonald, featuring Cheryll Case (Founder and Executive Director, CP Planning); Amina Yasin (Director, Hogan’s Alley Society & Co-Chair, Vancouver City Planning Commision); Kofi Hope (CEO & Co-founder, Monumental & Urbanist-in-Residence, School of Cities); Mapfumo Chidzonga (Senior Engagement Strategist, Government of Nova Scotia);  Leighana Mais (Community Leader, Keele + Eglinton Residents Group). Narrated by Alexandra Lambropoulos (Urban Limitrophe / Untitled Planning).