Planners have to ensure that the urban environment reflects the values and meets the needs of the city’s residents. However, continuing global migration trends mean that the profile of city populations is constantly evolving, and planners have to find ways to factor immigrant communities into their plans and policies in order to make good, equitable plans.

This literature review, undertaken for a public policy/politics class on migration and citizenship, is an overarching picture of the intersections between land use and community planning and immigrant integration.

Through this scan, I found that planners and the policies they implement can directly influence immigrants’ integration experiences through their access to housing, to economic opportunities and to decision-making processes in the communities they are trying to settle in.

Recognising the limited resources that many planning departments face, as well as systemic inequities resulting in the planning profession – at least in the North American context – being limited in diversity and equitable representation, the research indicates the importance of community networks in planning for immigrants. These organisations can help planners form networks to better reach out to and plan for immigrants, as the practical wisdom they have through engaging with immigrants can help fill gaps in planners’ expertise and resources.