Planners + Community: Zena Al-Beitawi is doing an urban planning senior project examining how public spaces can be designed for inclusivity, safety, and enjoyment versus Hostile Architecture in Pomona, CA.
Please take a few minutes to complete Zena’s survey! Use the QR code or this link: https://bit.ly/HostileDesign2026
Your input will help shape Zena’s policy recommendations for equitable — not hostile — public spaces.
UCLA network in action! Jordan Grimaldi (MURP ‘26) is doing a master’s client project for City Fabrick analyzing utility right-of-ways in LA.
CF’s Alexander Jung, AICP (MURP ‘15) connected Jordan and me (MAUP ‘05) for deep background on the East 92nd Street utility right-of-way in Florence-Firestone.
Jordan interviewed me at the Florence-Firestone Community Organization office and then we visited the site, which is now the home of the future 92nd Street Linear Park via Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation!
I then connected Jordan with Yanel Sáenz (MPH ‘22) of the Friends of Washington and 92nd Street Park for additional community interviews about transforming this utility right-of-way into a park.
We will continue supporting Jordan’s community-based research and recommendations well after graduation.
Go Bruins!
Originally written in 2004 and revised in 2026, my piece “The End of Geography?” is published on Medium. I consider claims alleging geography’s demise in the context of territorial space versus cyberspace. This is the latest contribution to my Student Papers Archive.
Read: https://medium.com/@c1typlann3r/the-end-of-geography-69adb0941440?sk=23443ada3bd86b5aa638547cb5f7506e
Officiated my second wedding, this time in beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The honor of a lifetime. Thank you, Jakob & Emily, for your trust, and congratulations!
No Context-inspired photos from my upcoming publication:
“The End of Geography? An Analysis of Virtual and Physical Spatiality in the 21st Century.”
I wrote the original version of this paper for Professor Edward W. Soja’s course UP 233: Political Economy of Urbanization at UCLA Urban Planning and submitted it on May 5, 2004.
Intended readers were only Professor Soja and TA Miguel Kanai, which, in hindsight, explains my original’s overly academic tone. I’ve overhauled it for a wider audience though the arguments remain intact. The text is a faithful record of my position in 2004.
It’ll be published on Medium as part of my Student Papers Archive.
What is Embedded Planning? A public discussion led by the Student Planning Association at Ball State University.
I made this meme on April 26, 2022, but never posted it. I stand by my claim. It’s a conversation starter.
Thanks to everyone who attended our Central Avenue Vacant Lot Activation on January 17th, MLK Weekend. Big shout out to our Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell and our Assemblymember Sade Elhawary for joining us! Much love to all the vendors and performers, especially the Compton Riot dance crew from Kipp Compton Community School.
Florence-Firestone community members will decide the future of this vacant lot.
We have one more activation in February, come through.
Some images from our January 2026 activation:
We’re building the future of architecture.
I’m on the Host Committee planning the February 7th annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Architecture + Advocacy. This year’s topic is: “Deconstructing “Engagement: A Conversation about Community-Led Design.”
Community leaders, architects, policymakers, developers, and all people who care about the future of our city, will explore ways community engagement can go beyond “checking a box” and empower residents as decision makers. You can look forward to:
Date: Saturday, Feb 7, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 8:00pm
Location: Western Office Showroom, 515 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 101 Los Angeles, CA 90071
Early Bird Tickets: $40
Early Bird ticket sales end January 22nd! After that, the price increases to $50. Get yours now! Tickets: https://architectureandadvocacy.org/en/events/p/architecture-advocacys-annual-fundraiser
Infographics designed by Julia Chen
Architect Frank Gehry passed away on December 5, 2025 in Santa Monica. He was 96. I wrote about Frank Gehry’s influence on me as a 90s architecture student at East Los Angeles College and SCI-Arc.
Excerpt:
Thirty years later, Gehry’s ideas challenging form, challenging materiality, challenging function, challenging convention, challenging orthodoxy, challenging the architecture establishment, challenging one’s own profession, remain with me as an urban planner.
Gehry was a driving inspiration in my early development. I’m taking time to reflect on his impact and work. Meantime, check out my 1996 three bedroom residence designed in the spirit of Frank Gehry.
A course on Embedded Planning praxis is coming to Ball State University Department of Urban Planning!
PLAN 498/598: We Cannot Plan From Our Desks: Embedded Planning Theory and Practice
This is another step forward for our movement.
Huge thank you to Dan Baisden for inaugurating the class. BSU students are learning from the best. Dan leads the City of Fort Wayne Department of Neighborhoods which is literally an Embedded Planning department, as I’ve shared in recent keynotes.
I’m happy to be in dialogue with Dan about the syllabus.
Hey should we implement an Embedded Planning college course in Los Angeles?
The Florence-Firestone Community Organization recently hosted friends from SELA and South Central LA to discuss a range of urban planning issues. We covered the Gateway Cities Regional Climate Collaborative, the origins and spread of Embedded Planning praxis, emerging on-the-ground partnerships, community advocacy in these tense times, and much more. That 95-degree heat wave underscored the urgency of community preparedness for climate change.
Big thanks to these partners for coming thru:
—Gateway Cities Council of Governments
—Office of LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell
—SELA Collaborative
—TreePeople
—GRID Alternatives
—AltaMed Health Services
We sketched out several ideas for action. More to come!
I appreciate this shout out in the Altoona Mirror about our work on the Borough of Hollidaysburg Comprehensive Plan 2035.
‘The revised plan relies on the “embedded planning” methodology espoused by California urban planner Jonathan Pacheco Bell, who was a key consultant during several stages of the process, [Andrew] Holodnik said.
Bell’s approach emphasizes planners getting “out of the office into the street,” Holodnik said, which facilitates direct dialogue between municipal leaders and the constituents they serve.
“You’re immersing yourself in the community,” he said.’
Article: https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2025/10/hollidaysburg-borough-2035-plan-updated/
Hollidaysburg Comprehensive Plan 2035: https://hb2035.my.canva.site/
The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis
Jonathan Pacheco Bell, MAUP, MLIS
Speaker bio:
Jonathan Pacheco Bell is an urban planner with 20 years of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors of design and planning. He’s a former graffiti writer and West Coast Hip Hop kid, who learned to navigate urban space crisscrossing 1990s LA tagging and doing graffiti murals. These early street-level experiences would inspire Jonathan in college to switch from architecture to urban planning.
Jonathan earned a Master’s in Urban Planning at UCLA in 2005 and began his career as an LA County Zoning Enforcement Planner, building partnerships in communities like Florence-Firestone in South Central LA. During this time, he witnessed the harms of inequitable zoning, inspiring him to create new forms of street-level planning advocacy – what we now call Embedded Planning Praxis!
He has lectured on Embedded Planning across the U.S., with guest talks at Columbia University, Duke, Ohio State, USC Architecture, & Stanford Engineering, and presentations at APA Conferences in California, Washington, Indiana, Louisiana, and Iowa.
Jonathan currently serves as Co-President of the nonprofit Florence-Firestone Community Organization, in the neighborhood where Embedded Planning was born. From 2021 to 2025, he was an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Cal Poly Pomona and remains a mentor to emerging Bronco Planners.
Text version:
I loved my time at Casita Coalition. The backbone of Casita is a passionate team working tirelessly to enact middle housing solutions nationwide. This role allowed me to advance the mission, grow as a professional and person, and meet many wonderful people along the way. Casita is growing exponentially under the leadership of Noerena Limon. Thank you for the opportunity.
This decision was difficult because I love the team. But after much reflection, I’ve made a key career decision: I’m transitioning back into municipal planning, fulfilling a longtime goal of returning to the public sector where my work began. Full circle. More to come soon.
I’m grateful for everyone who’s supported me on the journey. Thank you.
Sincerely,
JPB
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