Byron Nicholas, PP, AICP is the Chief of Hudson County, NJ’s Planning Division and a co-convener of the BIPOC Planning Collective, an affiliate of Planners Network. He has over a decade of experience covering a wide range of multi-modal planning, policy, funding, and design at the regional and municipal level. Prior to this role, Byron served as Supervising Transportation Planner for Hudson County, New Jersey, where he was the County’s sub regional representative to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) MPO. In this role he served as the Vice Chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee, managed the transportation planning program, and advised County leadership on equitable transportation matters, including the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, the County’s Ferry Assessment, and the County’s Trucking Study. Byron is also the creator of Blackandurban, an online platform for POC planners and forward thinkers to document solutions to problems facing our communities. Byron is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, holds a Master of Urban Planning and a BA in Environmental Design from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and is currently the Planning Accreditation Board’s Vice-Chair as the AICP Young Planner Appointee.
As an active industry thought leader on transportation equity, below is an affiliate collection of various initiatives, working groups, advisory boards, conferences and consulting projects through Blackandurban.
“Sharing Solutions to Improve Our Spaces”
David vs. Goliath: Stories from Highway Removal Fights
Highway removals have gotten a lot of press lately in light of the USDOT’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program grants. Planners play a critical role in advocating for cities to become more equitable, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. It’s a big fight against metropolitan planning organizations and state departments of transportation – seasoned heavyweights with full-time staff, millions of dollars to be spent on consultants, expensive models, and a favorable policy. How do regular planners and communities new to the game fight the big guys’ resources?
This presentation focuses on starting a highway-removal fight and recognizing the breadth of challenges those projects encounter. Presenters share a range of approaches and tactics and identify three common elements that should be included in your campaign.
Learning Objectives:
Structure and objectively assess the situation and develop potential strategies to win the fight.
Share stories about building capacity at all levels.
Use inclusive, equitable metrics that lead to successful city building.
Byron Nicholas participated on a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) working group to critique and provide practical recommendations from a social justice and equity lens for the Urban Land Institute’s Healthy Corridors project also referred to as Demonstration Corridors. Each Demonstration Corridor demonstrates the value of strong cross-sector partnerships, thoughtful community engagement strategies, and the potential health impact on surrounding communities and vulnerable populations.
Black Voices on the City: A Resource Guide
Various Blackandurban’s articles are featured on this Black Voices of the City (BVOC) Resource Guide which also includes prominent contemporaries of Black planners and designers. This searchable database features work from Byron Nicholas, Coretta Mondesir, (founder of The Urban Money Project) and other Blackandurban contributors. The guide is also featured on this Planetizen article: A New Guide to Black Voices on the City, (September, 2020).
American Planning Association’s New York Metro Chapter’s 2020 Conference
Byron Nicholas hosted a session at the American Planning Association’s New York Metro Chapter’s 2020 Conference featuring three panelists who identify as social entrepreneurs - whose work helps fill the public service delivery gap to improve the way we live, work, and play in our communities. The partnerships discussed are case studies on how to successfully implement social programs and built environmental resources. The programs and resources directly serve their respective communities and contribute to the local economy while preserving existing cultural assets (AICP - 1.25 CM credits).
American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference 2020 Career Zone
Byron Nicholas participated among a talented team of panelists, alongside Kristen Jeffers, Gisla Augustin, and Carlos G. Espinoza to share stories and general information on establishing our personal and professional brands on social media in the realm of urban planning.
If you missed the conference, tune into APA Learn and search for the NPC 20 Home Collection to hear some useful tools on starting and maintaining your social media brands.
The Seven Objectives for Black Planners
By engaging with prominent and upcoming Black planners, Byron has lead the way to develop seven strong and tangible objectives to provide clear direction on what we, as Black planners, envision for the next ten years. The seven objectives are also viewed as a way to gain greater authority in our own communities and our profession. The Seven Objectives framework was mobilized by Desiree Powell’s Black Planner’s Collective public forum to solicit questions and comments to help guide the framework. The next step is to allocate resources to move towards implementation. More information about the seven objectives can be found here.
Standards and Procedures for Black Planners
By working closely with Gisla Augustin, Gigi the Planner, Founder we’ve provided insight on strategic standards for procedures for Black Planners that may need assistance in how they can effectively maneuver the planning and political realm for positive change in our profession and environment. The Full text to the document can be found here.
Design as Protest (DAP)
Blackandurban strongly endorses Design as Protest’s (DAP) goals, objectives, and mission statement which is “to use design as a means to speak out in support of the disinherited and marginalized communities at risk during the next administration”. Design as Protest has received national attention since 2017 and has been featured in a variety of news articles including Bloomberg’s City Lab, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and Architectural Digest. Blackandurban’s very own Byron Nicholas has signed DAP’s Design Justice for Black Lives Demands and is proud to serves on Design as Protest’s Planning + Policy Working Group Team.
Uplift Institute
Byron Nicholas serves on the Advisory Board for Uplift Institute. More information on Blackandurban’s work and partnership with Uplift Institute is coming soon.
