This thesis investigates the case of the Alliance for Community Transit Los Angeles (ACT-LA) as an example of reparative planning “in action.” Over the past few decades, urban planning not only moved from a technocratic, top-down approach toward a more participatory one but also became more attuned with the harms and wrongs caused by the field in the past. Although there is a growing body of work on how repair and healing relate to planning theory, there are few empirical case studies that examine how reparative planning translates into practice. This research explores how a regional coalition of grassroots organizations advocates and plans for equitable development and transit justice in the Los Angeles area, specifically analyzing the tools and methods used by ACT-LA to better understand how these processes can be scaled up and implemented in planning practice to move the field toward a more reparative direction.
