OAKLAND; Calif. (KGO) An East Bay urban city planner is using art as a medium and an approach to city planning.
James Rojas recreates tiny replicas of cities around the country to help local residents engage in city planning. I want people to understand their city as their experiences and their relationships, said James Rojas, Founder of Place It. It is about your life and about your story and how that story gets told in city planning.
Rojas uses craft supplies, toys and items around the house to re-create small-scale cities. By using objects for storytelling, play and art-making. People have more options to explain their urban city needs, said Rojas. City planning is really kind of dry and very abstract, but when you have objects, people start to connect with their feelings and emotions.