James Rojas

It was a privilege and honor for my artwork to represent the United States at the United Nation Habitat organized World Urban Forum (WUF) in Brazil. The theme of the fifth biannual conference was The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide. The Forum was established by the United Nations in 2002 to examine urgent problems facing the world today. The conference focused on rapid urbanization and its impact on cities, economies, climate change, and policies. It brought together over 17,000 participants including government leaders, ministers, mayors, diplomats, regional and international associations, community groups, and practitioners. The US delegation was comprised of high-level staff from the White House Office of Urban Affairs, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States Department of Agriculture. This year, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan led the US delegation.

The opening up of the Eastside Gold Line Light Rail afforded twenty-four students from Mujeres y Hombres Nobles Continuation High School in East Los Angeles and I the opportunity to explore urban planning and transportation options together. As part of the HeArt Project (www.theheartproject.org), I taught a 10-week art course that used the rail line and urban planning as the subject.