Tag Archives: Florence-Firestone

Embedded Planning Praxis Workshop at USC Price

Embedded Planning Praxis Workshop: From Concept to Practice in Los Angeles

This interactive workshop builds on the themes introduced in last year’s USC Price talk, “The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis.” Diving deeper, this event is a hands-on exploration of Embedded Planning Praxis itself. Designed as a participatory space, the workshop invites students to collaboratively explore how Embedded Planning can be implemented in LA’s unique contexts.

Embedded Planning calls for planners to work from spaces and places of the communities they serve, centering lived experience, co-creation, and long-term partnerships over top-down, technocratic approaches. This workshop asks: “What does it mean for planners to be embedded? How can we practice this approach in our communities? What are the challenges and possibilities?”

Participants will engage in interactive discussions and scenarios focused on local conditions and place-based strategies to apply Embedded Planning Praxis. The workshop also provides a supportive space for us to reflect on professional roles, institutional barriers, and opportunities for transformative planning practices. Whether you’re an experienced planner or new to participatory approaches, this workshop will jumpstart the development of practical steps to apply Embedded Planning in our communities.

Speaker Bio

Jonathan Pacheco Bell (@c1typlann3r) is a Los Angeles-based urban planner with two decades of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For 14 years, he worked on the ground as a Los Angeles County Zoning Enforcement Planner in South Central LA’s Florence-Firestone community. Witnessing the harms of inequitable zoning inspired him to create a new form of street-level planning advocacy called Embedded Planning Praxis. His street-level praxis has since become a movement spreading across the US and internationally. Today, Jonathan serves as Co-President of the nonprofit Florence-Firestone Community Organization – in the community where Embedded Planning was born.

UCLA Network in Action

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!

Central Avenue Vacant Lot Activation on MLK Weekend in Florence-Firestone

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:

Gateway Cities Regional Climate Collaborative in Florence-Firestone

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!

Embedded Planning at CPPURP APSA

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.

Embedded Planning Keynote at APA WA Conference 2025

The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis

This talk introduces a new method of urban planning called Embedded Planning Praxis. Embedded Planning revolutionizes practice by emphasizing street-level planning within the community rather than traditional desk-based methods. Developed by Jonathan Pacheco Bell in South Central LA as an outgrowth of code enforcement work, Embedded Planning has evolved into a community-based praxis that seeks to rebuild trust and foster meaningful relationships with marginalized communities historically harmed by inequitable planning.

Embedded Planning is working directly from community spaces and places. Embedded planners engage residents in everyday environments, evolving practice from desk-based policy formation to on-the-ground collaboration in and from the neighborhood. This immersive approach helps planners gain a deeper understanding of local needs and aspirations, ensuring that community voices and needs significantly shape planning decisions. Embedded Planning is a timely evolution in the field that aligns with growing calls for more equity-centered, place-based, participatory practices. By embedding themselves into neighborhoods, planners build strong and authentic relationships, moving beyond one-off, transactional consultations to create lasting and impactful partnerships.

Using a reflective practitioner framework, Jonathan will illustrate what Embedded Planning looks like, explain its role as his motivating throughline, highlight embedded planners implementing these inclusive methods coast to coast, while highlighting the challenges and benefits of this praxis. Attendees will learn how this emerging movement represents a crucial shift towards centering planning as an active and continuous process from within the community and represents the future of planning.

Speaker:

Jonathan Pacheco Bell is an urban planner with two decades of experience in California working across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For 14 years, he served as a Los Angeles Zoning Enforcement Officer building partnerships on the ground in communities of color. During this time, he witnessed the harms of inequitable zoning, inspiring him to create new forms of street-level planning advocacy —what he calls Embedded Planning Praxis.

Jonathan is the VP of Policy and Programs at Casita Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for middle housing solutions. In addition to full-time practice, he volunteers as an Executive Board Member of the nonprofit Florence-Firestone Community Organization in South Central Los Angeles and was an Adjunct Professor at Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning from 2021-2025.

Jonathan has guest lectured nationally on Embedded Planning, with speaking engagements at Columbia University, Duke, Ohio State, University of Utah, Pratt Institute, Stanford Engineering, and UCLA; state and national APA Conferences in California, Iowa, Louisiana, and Indiana; and public forums such as AARP Livable Communities and the San Francisco Urban Film Fest.

A leader in the American Planning Association for over a decade, Jonathan is a member of the Latinos and Planning Division and is published in APA’s practitioner magazine, Planning. He previously served as APA Los Angeles section’s Social Media Director and was the Southern California representative on the APA National Social Equity Task Force.

Jonathan’s dedication to advocacy has earned him industry accolades, including the Planning Advocate Award of Excellence from APA Los Angeles and Planning Pioneer Award of Excellence from APA Inland Empire in 2024. He holds an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA Luskin and additional degrees in architecture, political science, and information science.

Cal Poly Pomona MURPs Return to Florence-Firestone

This Saturday 9/27 the Florence-Firestone Community Organization hosted the annual community walk in Florence-Firestone with the 1st year MURP cohort at Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design. MURP students learned about urban planning through storytelling, social history, and immersive Embedded Planning with our community members. This is a mutually beneficial long term partnership! Shout out to professors and students for spending an afternoon with us in South Central LA.

Embedded Planning Returns to USC Price

The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis

This talk introduces a new method of urban planning called Embedded Planning Praxis. Embedded Planning revolutionizes practice by emphasizing street-level planning within the community rather than traditional desk-based methods. Developed by Jonathan Pacheco Bell in South Central LA as an outgrowth of code enforcement work, Embedded Planning has evolved into a community-based praxis that seeks to rebuild trust and foster meaningful relationships with marginalized communities historically harmed by inequitable planning.

Embedded Planning is working directly from community spaces and places. Embedded planners engage residents in everyday environments, evolving practice from desk-based policy formation to on-the-ground collaboration in and from the neighborhood. This immersive approach helps planners gain a deeper understanding of local needs and aspirations, ensuring that community voices and needs significantly shape planning decisions. Embedded Planning is a timely evolution in the field that aligns with growing calls for more equity-centered, place-based, participatory practices. By embedding themselves into neighborhoods, planners build strong and authentic relationships, moving beyond one-off, transactional consultations to create lasting and impactful partnerships.

Using a reflective practitioner framework, Jonathan will illustrate what Embedded Planning looks like, explain its role as his motivating throughline, highlight embedded planners implementing these inclusive methods coast-to-coast, while highlighting the challenges and benefits of this praxis. Attendees will learn how this emerging movement represents a crucial shift towards centering planning as an active and continuous process from within the community and represents the future of planning.

Speaker bio

Jonathan Pacheco Bell is an urban planner with two decades of experience in California working across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For 14 years, he served as a Los Angeles Zoning Enforcement Officer building partnerships on the ground in communities of color. During this time, he witnessed the harms of inequitable zoning, inspiring him to create new forms of street-level planning advocacy – what he calls Embedded Planning praxis.

Jonathan works as VP of Policy and Programs at Casita Coalition, where he advances middle housing solutions with a strong focus on equity, access, and neighborhood-level impact. In addition to full-time practice, he serves as Co-President of the nonprofit Florence-Firestone Community Organization in South Central LA and was an Adjunct Professor at Cal Poly Pomona Urban and Regional Planning from 2021-2025.

Jonathan has guest lectured nationally on Embedded Planning, with speaking engagements at Columbia University, Duke, Ohio State, University of Utah, Pratt Institute, Stanford Engineering, and UCLA; state and national APA Conferences in California, Iowa, Louisiana, and Indiana; and public forums such as AARP Livable Communities and the San Francisco Urban Film Fest.

A leader in the American Planning Association for over a decade, Jonathan is a member of the Latinos and Planning Division and is published in APA’s practitioner magazine, Planning. He previously served as Social Media Director of APA Los Angeles and was the Southern California representative on the APA National Social Equity Task Force.

Jonathan’s dedication to communities has earned him industry accolades, including the Planning Advocate Award of Excellence from APA Los Angeles and Planning Pioneer Award of Excellence from APA Inland Empire in 2024. He holds an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA Luskin and additional degrees in architecture, political science, and information science.

Vacant Lot Activation in Florence-Firestone

Florence-Firestone Vacant Lot Activation

7700 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90001

Saturday, September 20, 2025, 2:00 – 5:00 PM

Project:

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.

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/corridors-2-community-corredores-hacia-la-comunidad-tickets-1677297204089?aff=oddtdtcreator

#FlorenceFirestone #EmbeddedPlanning

Mike Davis Roundtable at the Urban History Association Conference 2025

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.

Register for the UHA Conference here: https://urbanhistory.org/Conference-Registration.

Florence-Firestone Walk and Roll Event

Join LA Walks + the Florence-Firestone Community Organization for a Walk and Roll event: Adapting for Community Safety & Accessibility!

What we’re doing:

VISIONING: Envisioning safer, more welcoming streets and sidewalks

WALK AUDIT: Documenting and analyzing current street and sidewalk conditions

ART: Creating a zine with artist Audrey Chan to share community experiences

*Register at Roosevelt Park Senior Center or online here.

Date: Saturday, Sept 6, 2025, 2-5pm

Location: FFCO Office, 6940 Compton Ave, LA 90001

Sponsored by AARP

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!

Building Embedded Planning Praxis at USC Architecture

Scenes from USC Architecture from my 4/3 guest talk, “Building Embedded Planning Praxis.” The invited lecture was delivered in the USC Master of Heritage Conservation graduate course, Heritage Conservation Policy and Planning.

This is chapter 1 in the story of Embedded Planning praxis.

I lay out my path to Embedded Planning which includes coming up as graffiti writer and hip hop kid in the 80s & 90s, dropping out of architecture school in ‘98, and then finding urban planning thanks to Mike Davis and Edward W. Soja (both rest in power). Embedded Planning was co-created with community members in Florence-Firestone in South Central LA.

Who’s the cat in the photo?! In 2003 in the MAUP program at UCLA Luskin Department of Urban Planning, I took an architecture theory course where I learned Professor Gregory Ulmer’s CATTt method for writing a manifesto. I would go on to use the CATTt to write my 1-page manifesto on Embedded Planning titled, “We Cannot Plan From Our Desks,” published in the October 2018 issue of APA’s Planning Magazine.

And now we’re a worldwide movement in planning theories and practices.

Photos by Meredith Drake Reitan, Professor & Associate Dean. Thanks for the invite to speak with your MHC students!