James Rojas

James Rojas
Name	James Rojas
Occupation	Urban designer, community activist, artist
Years active	1990s–present
Known for	Model-building workshops, participatory urban design

James Rojas is an urban designer, community activist, and artist known for pioneering participatory design techniques using model-building and tactile urbanism. He has worked with communities, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions to make planning processes more inclusive, translating lived experience into tangible urban scenarios. Rojas's practice intersects with planning, landscape architecture, art institutions, and community organizations across the United States and internationally.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rojas's formative years were shaped by the built environments of Los Angeles County, California, the San Gabriel Valley, and East Los Angeles. He studied at institutions and programs linked to design and urbanism, engaging with curricula influenced by thinkers associated with University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Long Beach, and regional design studios. Early mentors and colleagues included practitioners connected to City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning, community development nonprofits, and cultural centers in Boyle Heights and San Pedro.

Career and urban planning work

Rojas began his career working on community planning initiatives and urban design projects in southern California and later expanded to projects involving agencies such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, municipal planning commissions, and regional nonprofit coalitions. His approach draws on participatory practices adopted in projects associated with Community Development Corporations, neighborhood councils, and transit-oriented development plans near corridors like Interstate 10 and Pacific Electric Railway rights-of-way. Collaborations included partnerships with urbanists and institutions linked to National Endowment for the Arts, academic programs at University of Southern California, and city-led revitalization programs in locales such as Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

Model-building workshops and community engagement

Rojas is best known for hands-on model-building workshops that use found materials, recycled objects, and everyday artifacts to create scaled representations of neighborhoods and streetscapes. These workshops have been used as facilitation tools in workshops with participants from organizations such as East Los Angeles Community Corporation, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and immigrant-serving groups from neighborhoods like Pico-Union and Lincoln Heights. The methodology has been showcased alongside practices promoted by advocates in Participatory budgeting initiatives, planners affiliated with the American Planning Association, and design educators connected to the National Charrette Institute. Rojas's tactile urbanism techniques have been applied in community visioning sessions for transit projects near stations on the Metro A Line (Los Angeles Metro) and planning dialogues for open space programs influenced by frameworks similar to those from the Trust for Public Land.

Notable projects and exhibitions

Rojas's work has been featured in exhibitions and public programs at cultural and design institutions including Smithsonian Institution-affiliated initiatives, regional museums such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and design festivals connected to ArtCenter College of Design and California College of the Arts. He has presented model-building installations and participatory events at venues associated with Cooper Hewitt, city planning summits convened by the Urban Land Institute, and public programming produced by the Getty Foundation. International appearances have included collaborations with urban practitioners linked to cities like Mexico City, Bogotá, and Barcelona, bridging dialogues with organizations such as UN-Habitat and networks inspired by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

Awards and recognition

Rojas has received recognition from community arts organizations, civic design awards, and foundations that support civic engagement and cultural heritage. Honors and grants have come from entities aligned with the National Endowment for the Arts, regional community foundations, and municipal awards from bodies similar to the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. His methods have been cited in publications and conferences organized by the American Planning Association, academic symposia at institutions like Harvard Graduate School of Design, and design biennales that include civic practice tracks.

Personal life and legacy

Rojas continues to live and work in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, maintaining studio practice and ongoing partnerships with grassroots organizations and municipal agencies. His legacy is evident in the diffusion of tactile urbanism techniques among community practitioners, planning educators, and cultural institutions, influencing participatory design curricula at programs connected to University of California, Berkeley, the School of Architecture at UCLA, and community design centers modeled after the Community Design Collaborative. Through workshops, exhibitions, and trainings, Rojas has helped foreground the role of embodied, material practices in neighborhood planning and civic engagement.

Category:Urban designers Category:Community activists