Inclusive + Equitable Planning: Improving Linguistic Accessibility of Community Plans
Comprehensive Plan Cover | Teska Assocaites, Inc.
Chicago suburbs are increasingly becoming more diverse communities where multiple cultures are celebrated and languages are spoken. Linguistic inclusivity in the planning process is common in Chicagoland but oftentimes the final documents and implementation process remain an English-only affair. Translating a Comprehensive Plan into another language, such as Spanish, can be an important step towards not only expanding engagement but also working towards empowering residents who speak other languages to be active during and after the planning process.
Linguistic inclusivity in the planning process is common in Chicagoland but oftentimes the final documents and implementation process remain an English-only affair.
Rolling Meadows, a northwestern suburb of Chicago, has several advantages given its location, making it a highly desirable place to live and work. Indicative of its unique assets in the region, the population continues to grow and become more diverse: almost 30% of the City’s population was born in another country.
Upon finalizing the 2019 Comprehensive Plan Update, the City committed to making more materials available in Spanish, creating greater accessibility for the 20% of the population that speaks Spanish instead of English at home.
Translation in Action
Throughout the translation process, the Teska Team worked to ensure that the Plan closely resembled the vision and spirit of the English version. The process of preparing a comprehensive plan is a balancing act of sorts -- getting the right mix of data and outreach to understand existing conditions and what a community truly needs to become its future vision of itself. For the Teska Team, the translation process was an educational and inspirational opportunity. Plans incorporate a number of ideas and concepts which are, in many cases, described in a language all their own -- “planner”.
Concepts, in many cases, are described in a language all their own -- “planner”. Terms like “sense of place” and “tight-knit community” required some extra time and thought to ensure the spanish translation celebrated the true meaning of the english version.
And just like there are significant differences between British English and American English, Spanish is the official language of over 20 countries, meaning that determining the most commonly used terminologies was an important consideration. The process included several cycles of refinement to ensure the best translations for phrases and terms that did not have a direct Spanish equivalent.
A Page from the Plan Translation | Teska Assocaites, Inc.
Featured Photo for this Article: Crowd at the 2018 Wine-Down By The Creek Event | Courtesy of the City of Rolling Meadows