Today we’d like to introduce you to Brigham Yen.
Hi Brigham, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was a teenager in the summer of 1995, my dad took me on a cross country road trip on Greyhound. I discovered my passion for urbansim. Every city we drove into, I was compelled to look for the city’s cluster of downtown high-rises from the bus window. Attending college at UC Berkeley, I continued to explore my passion in urbanism visiting San Francisco (a stark contrast from where I grew up in suburban Los Angeles) and reading obsessively about city planning and transit development on those very early Internet forums. After graduating, I landed my dream job at the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) where I worked in economic development and helped promote Downtown LA’s urban revitalization efforts. In addition, I started DTLA Rising about a decade ago, which became the most popular urban news blog about Downtown LA. Today, I have rekindled my love for Pasadena’s urban development after spending much time there during COVID’s pandemic lockdowns. I grew up in the SGV and Pasadena was actually my first exposure to anywhere even semi-urban! I would always hang out in Old Pasadena as a teenager and grew to love the walkable downtown. I love seeing LA’s overall growth towards smart density, but I am especially focused on seeing both DTLA and Pasadena reach their full urban potential as two of the region’s best urban centers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been struggles and challenges when you’re dealing with urbanism in a very car-oriented city like Los Angeles. I have spent my entire career promoting and advocating for walkable, transit-oriented, and bicycle-friendly communities. However, the majority of Angelenos drive cars and don’t like to share the road with other modes of transportation, preventing significant changes that need to be made in order for pedestrians and cyclists to feel safe in our cities. Walking and biking in LA can still be a very dangerous activity, and that should obviously not be the case. Nevertheless, LA is densifying overall with a boom in mixed-use construction all over the city, and there is a much stronger political voice lobbying for pedestrian and bicycle safety and enhancements to our built environment. I believe it is very important to continue to focus our efforts on urban centers like DTLA and Pasadena (and other great urban nodes like Santa Monica, Culver City, and Hollywood) to give Angelenos more options when it comes to living an urban lifestyle.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an urbanist, blogger, and a real estate agent who focuses mostly on urban real estate projects. From a young age, I realized how much I loved urban cities. To this day, my favorite city in the world is still NYC. To me, NYC is the urban model that resonates the most with me (at least in this country). Every time I visit Manhattan, I am so inspired and feel compelled to bring back to LA some of that urban magic. The walkability, the energy, the architecture, the urban parks, the myriad of interesting businesses. It’s all so intoxicating to me! My deep love for NYC and the urban city model inspired me to create my blog DTLA Rising, which has been featured on NY Times, LA Times, KCRW, LA Magazine, LA Weekly, and my other media outlets. My proudest moment was being able to give a Tedx Talk about Downtown LA’s urban revitalization.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Not being afraid to dedicate your life to your passion, even if it seems counter to what is possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: dtlarising.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brighamyen/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/p2-8Ie_hsGY
Image Credits
Photos (of NYC) by Brigham Yen
