Building Embedded Planning Praxis at LUGARES Conference 2026

I’m presenting at the APA Latinos and Planning LUGARES Conference 2026.

Building Embedded Planning Praxis

This session explores how Los Angeles urban planner Jonathan Pacheco Bell created Embedded Planning, the praxis that takes planning out of the office and into the streets. Born in the Black and Latine community of Florence-Firestone in South Central LA, Embedded Planning ditches traditional desk-bound methods for place-based, hyperlocal planning with your feet on the street. Using autoethnography and reflective practice, Jonathan will share how he co-developed Embedded Planning with Florence-Firestone community members, building deep trust while battling institutional resistance. Attendees will leave equipped to apply Embedded Planning Praxis to reclaim space, power, and planning in their own communities.

Learning Objectives:

— Learn how Embedded Planning Praxis builds trust, dismantles social and institutional barriers, and shifts power to Latine and Black communities through street-level practices.

— Formulate actionable strategies for Latine planners to implement Embedded Planning and other forms of radical planning praxis in their own urban planning work, organizing, and local contexts.

— Reflect on the role of culture, lived experience, and local contexts in shaping how Latine planners understand communities, earn trust, and practice planning on the ground.