Reuben Duarte is a Land Use Planner at Sheppard Mullin in Los Angeles, California, where he assists real estate developers, property owners, and other business entities in guiding their projects through the entitlement process, including permitting, regulatory and environmental compliance (CEQA), stakeholder engagement, and community outreach. Reuben has also written as a contributing editor for the Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter.
Reuben received his BA in Legal Studies and Sociology from UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Urban & Regional Planning from UCLA, where he specialized in transportation planning and policy, and urban design and development. His primary areas of interest include: real estate and economic development, urban design, land use and transportation policy, high-speed rail, and political environments.
In his spare time, Reuben enjoys serving as the Communications Director for the California (UC Berkeley) Alumni Association in Los Angeles. Originally from Visalia in California’s Central Valley, he now lives in West Hollywood where he can be found drinking whiskey on a patio somewhere.
You can contact Reuben directly via email at [email protected].
Are We Approaching Peak Land Use Control?
With an increasing reliance on development regulations and requirements on land owners to satisfy policy goals, are we approaching an unsustainable point in land use controls?
The Future of the Gayborhood
With the advancement of LGBT rights and equality, the traditionally LGBT neighborhood is changing to reflect the tastes and preferences of the new LGBT community within.
Time to Look at Oakland
While Oakland is by no means an easy place to develop real estate, the often maligned East Bay city of over 400,000 residents may very well be the Bay Area’s best place to embrace much-needed development.
Why Foreign Money is Irrelevant to Increasing Density
While concern over foreign investment in the local real estate market is perfectly valid, the concern is irrelevant to the reasons and need to increase density and the supply of housing.
The Fall of Planning Expertise
With increasing skepticism and conflict towards planners and planning projects, we must ask ourselves: Is the power and politics now vested in "community participation" undermining the planning profession?