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 RDuarte@SheppardMullin.com.
The Case for Neighborhood Bars...and Why Planning is Like Cooking
Beyond permits and specific plans, urban planning is the creation and facilitation of a user experience, where the neighborhood bar is an essential ingredient to the cohesiveness of a neighborhood.
Planning For More Than Sports
The recent attempts to lure a NFL team to Los Angeles shows how successful site design will depend on the cultural characteristics of the uses of the site as much as it will depend on planning for land use and logistics.