URBAN PLANNERS OPPOSE THE WAR IN IRAQ
We are urban planners and professionals in the fields of community preservation
and development. We oppose the U.S. war in Iraq as a politically unacceptable
means of resolving the problem of disarmament and dealing with the despotic
regime in Iraq. The Bush administration has turned its back on the United
Nations and proceeded despite overwhelming opposition throughout the world. The
invasion of Iraq increases instability and heightens the dangers of terrorism
throughout the world.
Urban planners and professionals in community development have special reasons
for opposing this war.
1. Urban planners are dedicated to the preservation and development of cities.
We cannot support a war that destroys the physical and social infrastructure of
cities. Baghdad is a city of 4.5 million people and large numbers of civilians
will die as the result of U.S. bombing.
2. Urban planning is concerned with human welfare and improvement in the quality
of life. We cannot support a war that will bring widespread hunger, homelessness
and extensive human suffering.
3. The earliest cities were founded in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, in what is now Iraq. The numerous ancient historic treasures in Iraq are
threatened by the extensive U.S. bombing campaign.
4. Urban planning in America is based on principles of participation and equity.
We cannot support a war that imposes the will of the mightiest nation in the
world on a population that is helpless and at a foreign military force. U.S.
occupation of Iraq will only expand inequalities and facilitate the plunder by
the U.S. of Iraqi resources and labor.
5. Democratic urban planning is based on preserving and developing open and
integrated cities with accessible public spaces. The U.S. is reinforcing the
establishment of elite, walled enclaves in the Middle East, and on its own
border. The U.S. supports, through its foreign aid, the construction of walls,
very much like the Berlin Wall, that divide people based on ethnicity.
6. Since 9/11, urban planners are being called upon to consider security
concerns in the urban development process. We do not believe there are any
methods for building "defensible cities" simply by using physical
design. Public security is best guaranteed by building cities and societies that
minimize social inequality and maximize social interaction. We are concerned
that the Bush administration's homeland security efforts are reinforcing
inequalities, creating more fear and instability, and increasing social
isolation.
We call on all professionals in the urban planning and community development
fields to join the global protest against the U.S. war.
The Planners Network Steering Committee
Tom Angotti
Ann Forsyth
Fernando Marti
Richard Milgrom
Barbara Rahder
Ken Reardon
Gwen Urey
Ayse Yonder
Planners Network is an association of progressive urban planners.
www.plannersnetwork.org