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 called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

placemaking Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the urban planning, 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 tha ...

, 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, activist ...

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

, 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." He died of

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

at 65 years old.

Career

Walljasper graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

in Iowa City, where he wrote for the ''

Daily Iowan ''The Daily Iowan'' is an independent, 6,500-circulation student newspaper serving Iowa City and the University of Iowa community. During the 2020–2021 academic year ''The Daily Iowan'' transitioned from printing daily to producing a print ed ...

''. At the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

'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, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminari ...

, 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 A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socia ...

, 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 is an American Minnesota-based family foundation. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation maintains a $2.5 billion endowment, which it distributes in grants. In 2022, the foundation issued $120 million, supporting Min ...

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 M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', ''

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 dining ...

'', '' Mother Jones'', ''

Preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

'', ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' (London), ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' magazine, ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' magazine, ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', '' Tikkun'', ''

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'', '' Yes!'' magazine, ''E'' magazine, ''

Le Courrier (, ) 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. History Founded on 5 January 1868, it w ...

'' (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, writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article to refer to indepe ...

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

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

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

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. Content and format The site does not endorse candidates for office or publish unsigned editorials representing an institutional posit ...

'' 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 Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

; urban lessons from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

; and various grassroots efforts to counter inequality. On a wider canvas, he wrote ten articles for ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' on biking, walking, and urban issues, profiling Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Quebec, and Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

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 William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...

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