Jay Walljasper (died 22 December 2020) was an American writer, editor, speaker, and community consultant. He explored how new ideas in

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

placemaking Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that improve urban v ...

, tourism,

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

, sustainability, politics and culture could alter urban livability for the better. R.T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis (2002-14), wrote: “I’ve read scores of books and articles on cities, heard by now most of the very best urban minds . . . much of what I said that mattered as mayor was deeply influenced by Jay.”

Career

Walljasper graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

in Iowa City, where he wrote for the '' Daily Iowan''. At the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

's School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1981 he published "Age, a Minnesota perspective." He was urban-writer-in-residence at

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

, director of strategic communications and senior fellow at

Project for Public Spaces Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities, in an effort often termed placemaking Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the pla ...

, and director of communications and collaboration for the Social Life Project. He worked with organizations such as the National Geographic Society, Kresge Foundation, AARP, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Zones, Minneapolis Foundation,

McKnight Foundation The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in ...

and many others. According to the non-profit America Walks, he "helped walking and walkable communities gain broader appeal" through research, networking, advocacy, and journalism. For 15 years, he was editor of ''

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

'' magazine. During these years ''Utne Reader'' was transformed "from a tiny New Age newsletter to a thick, ad-rich magazine with more than 300,000 subscribers." It was nominated three times for the National Magazine Award for general excellence. He was also contributing editor at ''National Geographic Traveler'', executive editor at Netherlands-based ''Ode'' magazine, and a travel editor at '' Better Homes and Gardens''. He was inspired by the train stations, parks, and vibrant sidewalks in diverse European cities. His articles appeared in Washington Monthly, City Lab, Notre Dame magazine, ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'', ''

Midwest Living ''Midwest Living'' is a regional American magazine published by Dotdash Meredith focused on the American Midwest. Founded in 1986, the magazine publishes region-specific information and inspiration, focusing on travel and events, food and dinin ...

'', ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'', '' Preservation'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'' (London), ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' magazine, ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' magazine, ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', '' Tikkun'', '' L.A. Weekly'', '' Yes!'' magazine, ''E'' magazine, ''

Le Courrier ''Le Courrier'' (literally "The Mail") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Geneva. Founded on 5 January 1868, it was originally supported by the Roman Catholic Church, but has been completely independent since 1996. Main ...

'' (Paris), '' The Idler'', ''Rock N Rap Confidential'', ''Planeta Humano'' (Madrid), and ''

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

'' (Australia). In 2013 Walljasper was commissioned by the

to contribute to their Food for Thought series addressing future challenges and opportunities in the

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...

region. ''A River Runs Through Us: Why the Mississippi is Crucial to MSP’s Future'' was published in 2014. Walljasper published four dozen articles in the independent ''

MinnPost ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Funding ''MinnPosts initial funding of $850,000 came from four families: John and Sage Cowles, Lee Lynch and Terry Saario, Joel and ...

'' during 2012-19 on such themes as urban strategies for the Twin Cities; walking, lakes, biking, brewpubs, urban transit, and the tech scene as local-development resources; profiles of larger and smaller towns across Minnesota; urban lessons from Toronto, Seattle, Denver; and various grassroots efforts to counter inequality. On a wider canvas, he wrote ten articles for '' Huffington Post'' on biking, walking, and urban issues, profiling Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Quebec, and Pine Ridge, South Dakota.Jay Walljasper's HuffPost articles 2017 https://www.huffpost.com/author/jay-walljasper

Works

*''Visionaries, People and Ideas to Change Your Life,'' with Jon Spayde and Utne Reader staff (New Society, 2001) * ''The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Placemaking'' (New Society, 2007)
publisher website
*''All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons,'' with Bill McKibben introduction (New York: New Press 2011)
publisher website
*''How to Design Our World for Happiness: The commons guide to placemaking, public space, and enjoying a convivial life'' (OnTheCommons, 2013
archived here
*''A River Runs Through Us: Why the Mississippi is Crucial to MSP’s Future'' (Minneapolis: McKnight Foundation, 2014
archived here
*''America’s Walking Renaissance,'' co-authored with Kate Kraft and Heidi Simon (Bethesda MD: America Walks, 2016
download here
*"Treasure Hunt (During which a world traveler discovers what he loves about his hometown)" ''Notre Dame Magazine'' (Autumn 2020
archived here

References

External links

JayWalljasper.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walljasper, Jay Year of birth missing University of Iowa alumni Writers from Minneapolis American male writers 2020 deaths