Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: James Rojas – The City Is a Painting You Walk Into

This week I'm joined by James Rojas of Place It! to talk about art in planning and Latino urbanism. James is an award-winning planner and a native Angeleno, and he tells us about how growing up in East LA and visiting his grandmother’s house shaped the way he thinks about urban spaces and design.

Tune in and hear James discuss the importance of plazas to Latino culture and the history behind them, how people understand place, and why the public planning process works better when you start by tapping into people's childhoods rather than treating it purely as a problem solving exercise. Enjoy!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

An Olympian Task: Replicating Paris’s Bike Boom in Los Angeles

The Olympics can help transform the streets of Los Angeles — if they look to the example of Paris

October 29, 2025

LAX Is Spending More Than A Billion Dollars To Make Horseshoe Traffic Worse

LAX roadway expansion is "a zombie project, carried forward solely by inertia, by an airport going through the motions for literally no reason."

October 28, 2025

This Week In Livable Streets

Active Streets Corazón del Valle open streets this Sunday, Halloween, SB 79 at PLUM, and more

October 27, 2025

SGV Connect Episode 143: A Line Extension Tour

Streetsblog walks, talks, and eats the brand new Metro A Line Extension in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona.

October 27, 2025
See all posts