Want to build an ADU but feeling lost about who to work with? Don’t know where to start? Join us for this educational webinar focused on best practices for selecting and working with ADU professionals. Casita Coalition’s Director of Education, Timothy Pawlak, and Katherine Peoples, Casita Coalition Board Member and CEO of HPP Cares, will discuss the best ways to vet professionals, compare bids, review contracts, and protect yourself against fraud. This conversation will be moderated by Jonathan Pacheco Bell, VP of Policy and Programs at Casita Coalition.
The Biltmore Los Angeles in Downtown LA, October 9-12, 2025
Cities of Quartz: How Mike Davis Transformed Urban Studies (Roundtable)
Saturday, October 11, 2025 | 1:15-2:45pm
Abstract:
In this roundtable discussion, a group of writers, academics, and urban planners will discuss the life and work of Mike Davis. With books like City of Quartz, Ecology of Fear, and Planet of Slums, Davis played an irreplaceable role in pushing urban scholars to foreground questions of equity, justice, and sustainability in their work. Each of Davis’ books and articles was grounded in a clear-eyed assessment of the power dynamics that create unequal societies, and throughout his life he remained a forceful advocate for the moral necessity that poor and working-class communities — whatever their ethnic or racial makeup — have the same chance at opportunity as the ruling class.
To illuminate Davis’ legacy, our discussion will begin with the impact he had on how the city of Los Angeles understands itself, before we open our inquiry into applying his method to cities everywhere and incorporating his ethos into future urban plans.
The roundtable will be moderated by Mike Sonksen, a poet and former Woodbury University professor who was mentored by Mike Davis and remained friends with him for over two decades.
Abstract: Legislatures across the country are saying “yes” to backyard housing and passing statewide accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reforms. This panel brings together leaders from successful pro-ADU movements in California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to share lessons learned, best practices, and model legislation for legalizing second units in single-family areas.
Speakers: Max Dubler, California YIMBY, Policy Manager; Mike Kriesberg, Abundant Housing Massachusetts, Policy and Advocacy Manager; Marina Rubina, Who Killed The Starter Home? Podcast, Principal, Architect; Jonathan Pacheco Bell, Casita Coalition, VP of Policy and Programs
We are transforming the vacant lot at E. 77th Street and Central Avenue into a temporary community hub as part of Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s Corridors 2 Community Initiative. This initiative focuses on community-led revitalization of small business corridors in unincorporated communities in LA County’s 2nd District, including Florence-Firestone.
Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) and Florence-Firestone Community Organization (FFCO) are partnering with the County of Los Angeles to host a series of pop-up events over 6 months, bringing resources and services directly to the community.
These events will feature:
— Opportunities for residents to share their vision for the future of historic Central Avenue
— Live music and cultural activities
— Food and local vendors
— Services for small business owners
— County and community resources
— Free food for the first 75 participants!
Join us for FREE these resources, activities, and services for Florence-Firestone community members & businesses.
I’m on a panel recognizing the legacy of Mike Davis with writer legends Carolina A. Miranda, Kyle Paoletta, David Kipen, and Mike The PoeT Sonksen at the Urban History Association Conference 2025 in Los Angeles. More to come soon.
Join us on Saturday, October 11th, 1:15-2:45pm at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown LA.
This analysis was submitted on April 20, 2005 in Edward W. Soja’s UP 230 Intro to Regional Planning course at UCLA Urban Planning. Google was fairly new and better at retrieving information than other search engines. At this point, Soja was writing less about Postmodernism, more about New Regionalism, and always “putting space first.” He asked us to go deep in the search results to uncover definitions of New Regionalism in this digital space.
In 2005, I graduated from UCLA Urban Planning with my MAUP and took a photo on graduation day with my mentor, Professor Edward W. Soja. In 2025, I got to take photos with my urban planning and landscape architecture students on graduation day at Cal Poly Pomona Urban and Regional Planning. We’re all on a journey.
This video is cross-posted on my LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and c1typlann3r.blog.
I learned so much from moderating this breakout session at the Build the Middle National Housing Convening 2025. And from feedback received thus far, session attendees gained many insights, tools, and practical action steps.
Big thanks to our panelists: Diana Gonzalez from Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, Tennis Wick from Permit Sonoma, Derek Ouyang from Stanford RegLab, and Awais Azhar from HousingWorks Austin.
TODAY: Collaborating with APA PA Chapter on the talk, “Embedded Planning: A New Praxis for Pennsylvania.” This webinar supports development of the Borough of Hollidaysburg Comprehensive Plan using Embedded Planning as a central theme. Street-level planning, coast to coast!
Guest lecture “Embedded Planning is Radical Planning” in the Radical Planning Collective’s student-led course at UC San Diego. We will examine the origins and implementation of Embedded Planning praxis as an application of Radical Planning.
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.”
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