Selected resources on Embedded Planning praxis.
Embedded Planning situates the planner on the ground in the community to understand people’s needs, build trust and authentic relationships, participate in daily community life, increase participation for marginalized communities through street-level engagement, and ultimately advance equity. Embedded planners move with intention to carryout their work from the spaces and places of community members. You de-institutionalize planning. You take planning to the streets. Embedded Planning is a praxis that puts theory into action to better this world.
For a compendium of my Embedded Planning blog posts, click here.
Writings
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. We Cannot Plan From Our Desks. Planning. October 2018.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. Planning has a Credibility Problem. Embedded Planning is a Solution. Planners Network Disorientation Guide 2024, Second Edition, 38-46. Summer 2024.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. Urban Planning Graduation Day. Medium. June 17, 2023.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. I Recognize This Bureaucracy. Medium. December 23, 2022.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. Embedded Planning in Environmental Justice Communities: Three Takeaways for Practice. Medium. September 17, 2022.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. Embedded Planning Returns to ELARA. Medium. December 18, 2020.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. The Unforgettable Role of Cal Poly Pomona in the Development of Embedded Planning. Medium. June 13, 2020.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. “We Are a Movement:” Students Advance Embedded Planning at the National Planning Conference. UrbDeZine. May 14, 2019.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. An Urban Planner on the Ground in South Central Los Angeles. UrbDeZine. January 30, 2018.
Jonathan Pacheco Bell. Mutual Aid at Lunchtime. Cultural Weekly. December 6, 2017.
Jake Wegmann and Jonathan Pacheco Bell. The Invisibility of Code Enforcement in Planning Praxis: The Case of Informal Housing in Southern California. Focus: The Journal of Planning Practice & Education 13(1), 20-29. 2016.
Jeannene Przyblyski (with Jonathan Pacheco Bell et al). A Paseo Through Time in Florence-Firestone. East of Borneo Books. 2018. (Embedded Planning was used to write this book in partnership with community members)
Videos
Cal Poly Pomona. Embedded Planning: A Practitioner’s Origin Story. Bronco Magazine. Spring 2024. (direct link: https://streaming.cpp.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_m4gyacwk/uiConfId/52359092/st/0)
The Midwest Flourish by Marketing the Midwest. Change Happens on the Front Porch: Dan Baisden on How Fort Wayne Builds Strong Neighborhoods, Episode 12. Dan Baisden shares the City of Fort Wayne’s approach to Embedded Planning praxis. September 17, 2025.
Urban Beginnings podcast. Latin Labic & Expo Kermesse at Florence-Firestone Community Organization. Includes a primer on the origins of Embedded Planning praxis in the Florence-Firestone community. September 14, 2024.
University of Utah, City and Metropolitan Planning Department. We Cannot Plan From Our Desks! The Need for Embedded Planning. Keynote, Internalizing Equity Series. April 8, 2021.
American Planning Association. We Cannot Plan For Equity From Our Desks. June 21, 2021.
AARP Livable Communities Workshop. Engaging Older Adults: Why It’s Good For The Community. Plenary Panel – Collaborating with the Community. September 22, 2021.
USC Annenberg/JOVRNALISM. Echoes of the Uprising. April 14, 2022.
Mt. SAC Planning for Spatial Justice: A Symposium on Careers in Urban Planning. Embedded Planning and Spatial Justice. April 22, 2024.
Podcast Interviews
MayorFW. Fort Wayne Neighborhoods. October 14, 2025.
The Midwest Flourish by Marketing the Midwest. Change Happens on the Front Porch: Dan Baisden on How Fort Wayne Builds Strong Neighborhoods, Episode 12. September 17, 2025.
Urban Planning is Not Boring. Embedded Planning Praxis with Jonathan Pacheco Bell. September 26, 2022.
@UrbanDesignProject (with Isabelle Soares). What is Embedded Planning Praxis? A Discussion on the Interfaces of Urban Planning Research and Practice. Instagram Live. September 25, 2022.
UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative. Fall 2020 Graduate Seminar and Methods Course. Flatlands – We Cannot Pod From Our Desks. May 2021.
The Streets Are Planning. Express Yourself w/ Jonathan Pacheco Bell. February 25, 2021.
You Are Planning (Cal Poly Pomona). Interview with Jonathan Pacheco Bell. May 2020.
- Part 1. What is planning? Why does it matter? https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_3AmfypaEP/?igshid=nwuzlbsluwc6
- Part 2. Planning, organizing, and public participation. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAJJ13miycU/?igshid=lbjz870seiiq
- Part 3. What is Embedded Planning praxis? What does it look like during the pandemic? https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAeJ6RhJiLr/?igshid=jaz71obf7ue4
- Part 4. Florence-Firestone and Embedded Planning. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBd5RKlAXh0/?igshid=1v6y9vlpy80lq
Citations (Academic Theses, Peer-Reviewed Papers, Professional Planning Resources)
For citations in wider publications and media, see Press.
APA Los Angeles. Showcasing Impact: The Value of Embedding Community-Based Planners in Underserved Communities. APA Los Angeles News & Blog Posts. December 6, 2024.
Allison Gable. A Student’s Guide to Radical Planning Praxis: How to Be a Leftist Planner in the Real World. Senior Honors Seminar Capstone. UC San Diego Department of Urban Studies and Planning. June 2024. (Embedded Planning is cited throughout this zine)
Rogelio Martinez, Blair Czarecki, Anne Marie Conte, & Robin Griffin. Advancing the Future of Pasadena: Connecting Communities Through a Middle Housing Approach. Master of Urban Planning capstone. University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy. Fall 2024. (Embedded Planning is cited in the section Stakeholder Engagement)
Sophia Matheney Alonso. The Governance Behind the Game Plan: Unveiling Power Dynamics in the Case of SOFI Stadium. Master’s thesis. Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Urban Studies [4Cities]. September 2023. (Embedded Planning is cited in the Literature Review)
Matthew Malik Shore. Crown Jewel of the Bronx or Nail in the Coffin? Assessing the City’s Public Visioning Process for the Kingsbridge Armory’s Redevelopment and Buy-in for Community Ownership in the Northwest Bronx. Master’s thesis. Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. May 2023. (Embedded Planning is cited in the Literature Review, Methodology, and throughout the thesis)
Michael Mendez. The Reflective Practitioner in the Context of Racial and Environmental Justice. Planning Theory & Practice. June 2022. (Embedded Planning is discussed as a praxis for the future)
Ryan Dickerson. Grief Urbanism: Placemaking, Surrealism, and Freedom Inside Protest Camps. Master’s thesis. Ball State State University. May 2022. (Embedded Planning is cited in the Introduction)
Kha Vue. Understanding Radical Planning Through the Lens of Reflective Practice. Master’s thesis. Cal Poly Pomona. May 2022. (Embedded Planning is discussed in the context of professional practice and connections to Radical Planning)
Carolyn M. Levine. Beyond Trauma: A Healing-Centered Framework for Urban Planning. Master’s thesis. Pratt Institute. May 2021. (Embedded Planning is discussed in the recommendations chapter, PDF forthcoming)
Luis D. Diaz. Urban Planning and Queer Erasure: A Study of Hudson River Park and Reclaiming Our Spaces. Master’s thesis. Pratt Institute. February 2021. (Embedded Planning is referenced in the closing chapter)
Wes Grooms. Planners in Politics: Do They Make a Difference? Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 87, Issue 2. 2021. (Embedded Planning is referenced in this book review)
Annie Koh. Planning for Abolition and Decarceration — Readings and Resources. A resource page for the panel discussion event Confronting the Carceral State in Planning, which sought to unpack how planning is implicated in current forms of carceral control — prisons and migrant detention centers — and explore the prospects for decarceration and abolition. Planners Network. October 2020. (Two articles on Embedded Planning are cited in this resource)
Andy Lopez. Exploring the Community Land Trust Model: An Analysis of Community Land Trusts in California, and the Impacts of Assembly Bill 2818. Master’s thesis. Cal Poly Pomona. Spring 2020. (Embedded Planning is discussed in chapters 2 and 3 as an applied method for practice)
Izzak Mireles. Housing is a Human Right. Planning. December 2019. (Embedded Planning is cited in reference to justice and community-grounded practice)
Wes Grooms. Planning is Governing. Planning. July 2019. (Embedded Planning is cited as inspiration for politically active planners)
Hannah L. Diaz. Bidding AD(ie)U to Homelessness? Master’s thesis. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. June 2019. (Embedded Planning is discussed in the recommendations chapter)
Miguel Ramos. An Exploratory Look at Displacement in Highland Park. Master’s thesis. Cal Poly Pomona. Spring 2019. (Embedded Planning is discussed in the anti-displacement strategies and policy recommendations sections)
American Planning Association. Planning for Equity Policy Guide. May 19, 2019. (Embedded Planning is cited in the For Further Reading section)
