Monthly Archives: May 2025

Thank you, Cal Poly Pomona

My time at Cal Poly Pomona has come to an end. The last 4 years were a dream come true. In 2021, I’d never have imagined that 1 lower division course would blossom into 6 across our bachelor’s and MURP programs, including my personal goal of teaching planning theory (my favorite at UCLA Luskin!). With that accomplished, I’ve decided to exit on a high note. This move makes space for new lecturers . . . new ideas, new lessons, new texts, new assignments, new theories, new planning methods, new pedagogies, new critiques, new praxis.

I’ll miss my students. My greatest joy was being a part of their journeys. I got to see folks new to the field evolve before my eyes into fierce urban planners—change agents. I hope my ramblings contributed to their growth. My students give me boundless hope. The future of urban planning is in good hands. 

I was a mentor before CPP and I remain one. I’ve formed lifelong relationships with CPP students, faculty, and university fam. Many believe in Embedded Planning and other forms of activist praxis. We have momentum.

So this isn’t a “goodbye” but rather a “see you out there, in the neighborhoods, alongside our community members, planning and organizing, with your feet on the street.”

Scenes from Embedded Planning is the Future at Duke

Scenes from Duke University from my 4/10 guest talk, “Embedded Planning is the Future.” The invited lecture was delivered in partnership with the undergraduate group Duke Our Urban Future and Duke Urban Studies.

This is chapter 3 in the #EmbeddedPlanning story.

We begin in medias res amidst my high stakes confrontation with unnamed powerholding figureheads suspicious of Embedded Planning because it subverted top-down control. I retrace my steps and epiphanies as a zoning enforcement planner to create Embedded Planning in South Central LA’s Florence-Firestone community. Drawing from personal experiences, I reflect on the challenges and benefits of street-level planning in the face of power. I then present case studies of others doing Embedded Planning coast to coast — and beyond!

When you hear planners today talk about “meeting people where they are,” know that we’ve long called it Embedded Planning praxis. And now we’re a worldwide movement.

Photos by AJ Adovor & Avery Smedley of Duke OUF and Dr. Ashley Hernandez of UNC Chapel Hill Carolina Planning. Thank you, Duke urban planners, for inviting me to speak on your campus!

Embedded Planning is the Future at CSUN

Infographic by CSUN Professor Brettany K. Shannon

Join us 5/8 at CSUN Urban Studies and Planning for “Embedded Planning is the Future,” a public talk on the present and future of street-level activist planning.

Embedded Planning praxis shifts the planner’s work from a desk to the streets. Created during my Zoning Enforcement days in South Central’s Florence-Firestone community, this praxis aims to rebuild trust and foster meaningful relationships with marginalized communities harmed by inequitable planning.

We’ll highlight the spread of #EmbeddedPlanning coast to coast (and beyond!), with case studies, reflections, and personal experiences examining the challenges and benefits of street-level praxis.

Shout out to Dr. Brettany Kane Shannon for the invitation to return to CSUN URBS!