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Jordan O. James ABD/PhD, is a Native American urban planning scholar at the University of New Mexico and a senior planner in Albuquerque’s Urban Design division. Professionally, as a senior planner, he works on the City of Albuquerque’s Community Planning Area (CPA) initiative, which divides the city into 12 areas for focused community-based planning. His Long-Range Planning team conducts assessments with residents, businesses, and community organizations in a rotating cycle, evaluating two CPAs annually to identify successes and needs for future community development.
Grateful for the teachings and stories passed down from his ancestors, Jordan continues to honor his cultural heritage as an enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe by instilling the philosophical traditions of knowledge and sense-making through lifelong learning pedagogies. Among his people, the Anishinaabe (also known as the Chippewa or the Ojibwa), there is a cultural belief that the Creator put everything into being, including the known and unknown interactions and affordances of the world around us. As a Native American academic and urban planner, Jordan grounds his scholarship in the principle that he is not ‘creating’ new knowledge through his research and community outreach, but rather making sense of what was already in place and passing that knowledge on to others.
Artists and arts organizations interested in collaborating with the City of Albuquerque Long Range Planning can reach out to Jordan and the Long Range Planning team.
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