From Tracks to Build to: #SXSW. Merging model-building with DJing (and lighting). People built models of their first memory of sound and then worked in groups to build models of their dream nightclub in an unlikely place. Lots of plants, clouds, animals, and a kind of softness to the clubs figured in the mix.

#trackstobuildto #dreamplaybuild #communityengagement #urbanism #cityplanning #housemusic #nightlife

DJ set 2 from Tracks to Build to: #SXSW. This one I crafted around the prompt of building your dream club in an unlikely place. As cities become increasingly expensive and underground clubs become harder to run / keep afloat, how can we rethink the club space itself? You may use this for the soundtrack to your own model-building endeavors or any creative endeavor you want to sink into:

Link to set: djjohnnycakes.com

#urbanism #trackstobuildto #dreamplaybuild #communityenggement

From our Tracks to Build to event at #SXSW, where we merged DJing with model-building and people built models of their first memory of sound and then their ideal nightclub in an unlikely place.

#dreamplaybuild #communityengagement #nightlife #housemusic #techno #urbanism #urbanplanning #trackstobuildto

Year-end wrap-up / Happy New Year from @jamesrojas and me - tried to get all of our contacts from the past year on this, but if I missed you, here you go:

https://bit.ly/3kNEO3b

#cityplanning #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #transportation #communityengagement #dreamplaybuild #transit #urbanplanning #urbanism #cities #urbannature

From our workshop at MSR Design in #Minneapolis. We had folks build models of their ideal winter walking city. In the mix: Pit stops with outdoor fires, more nature, and cozy outdoor gathering areas.

In the US, we've really created a one-size-fits-all approach to city form regardless of climate; people really want otherwise.

#urbanism #urbanplanning #cities #transportation #dreamplaybuild

Our editor requested illustrations to capture the kind of playful / freeform nature of the engagement work we do, a request that coincided with me wanting to move away from collage as a primary graphic-design medium (had been using it for years). Anyway, so here is one of the illustrations I did - showing folks working with their hands to build their ideal shared bike/ped underpass.

#urbanism #cities #urbanplanning #dreamplaybuild #illustration #graphicdesign #transportation

The view from our model at #Ciclavia today in South LA. Buildings by @jamesrojas.

#cities #bikes #urbanplanning #walkability #losangeles #dreamplaybuild

#dreamplaybuild has made the 2022 list of Planetizen's top #urbanplanning books. Feels good to get recognized for our (w/@jamesrojas) work - which we started doing in 2007 in our parents' houses / basements and made so little money doing back then. Hope some new folks discover the book by way of the article and are inspired by it, take the ideas, and run with them.

https://bit.ly/3Uk0wYR

#communityengagement #urbanism #cities #urbandesign #landscapearchitecture

From our (with @jamesrojas) hands-on workshop in #Oakland today on #Link21 and creating a forward-thinking vision for a cohesive, user-friendly rail network in the #BayArea. People used found objects to build their dream #transit system. For more info on Link 21 click here:

https://link21program.org/en/about

Thanks to Transport Oakland and Seamless Bay Area for sponsoring. Thanks to Line 51 Brewery hosting.

#urbanism #urbanplanning #cities #transportation #dreamplaybuild #communityengagement

From our hands-on workshop in #Oakland today on #Link21 and creating a forward-thinking vision for a cohesive, user-friendly rail network in the #BayArea. People used found objects to build their dream #transit system. For more info on Link 21 click here:

https://link21program.org/en/about

Thanks to Transport Oakland and Seamless Bay Area for sponsoring.

#urbanism #urbanplanning #cities #transportation #dreamplaybuild #communityengagement #sanfrancisco

Hands-on workshop on Link21 in the #BayArea tomorrow. This will be the train that goes from Sacramento through Oakland and to San Francisco through a new tunnel. At the workshop uou'll be able to build models of your dream Link21. Deets below:

#oakland #berkeley #sanfrancisco #cities #dreamplaybuild #urbanism #transportation

#introduction

I'm a landscape / urban designer with a focus on community engagement by way of the hands and senses (re: we have people build what they want rather than simply talk about it).

I started my business, Prairieform, in my parents' basement in 2008 in Minneapolis. I am now based in Oakland, California.

My partner and frequent collaborator is @jamesrojas.
We just came out with a book, #dreamplaybuild, on Island Press.

I also spin house/techno under the moniker Johnnycakes.

@Pauly We actually write about this in the book #dreamplaybuild, which we just came out with - a lot of art therapy involves firing up the parts of our brains we have a harder time accessing when we're talking and in rational/pre-frontal-cortex mode. By working with our hands/senses, we can bypass the pre-frontal cortex, thereby setting aside predilections over survival and sinking into a flow state.

If you are curious about the origins of some of the play-based design/engagement work I/we (w/ James Rojas) do - and you can stand the sound of my voice - the Regenerative Real Estate podcast just featured me, as interviewed by Neal Collins.

https://apple.co/3UHZd6L

#dreamplaybuild #cities #urbanplanning #transportation #communityengagement

Our book, #dreamplaybuild, (w/ James Rojas) on engaging people through their hands and senses in urban planning, design, making better places. #islandpress is doing half-off on all print titles till midnight tonight.