Christian Madera
Christian Madera was managing editor of Planetizen from 2006 to 2008.
Contributed 1912 posts
Christian Madera was managing editor of Planetizen from 2006 to 2008. He currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Christian has written about urban planning, policy and technology issues for the Los Angeles Times, Planning Magazine, The Southern Sierran, and Next City Magazine, where he was a 2010 Urban Leaders Fellow. His past experience includes working as a community planner and the web and new media manager for the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC, as well as a policy analyst for a non-profit housing developer in Los Angeles.
Prior to joining Planetizen, Christian worked as a program manager for the China Planning and Development Institute in Shanghai and Beijing. Christian also spent three years as a web developer at Urban Insight, the internet consulting firm that supports Planetizen, and contributed significantly to the development of Planetizen from 2000-2003. He has interned and consulted with a number of governments and non-profit organizations, including the Port Authority of NY/NJ, the Rockefeller Foundation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), NYU Rudin Center for Transportation Policy, New Jersey Future, the City of Newark, NJ, and the CUNY Building Performance Lab in New York City.
Christian holds a BS in urban planning and development from the University of Southern California's School of Policy Planning and Development, and an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
Will Americans Ever Embrace Congestion Pricing?
<p>Though the idea of congestion pricing has won over many planners and officials, as the failed proposal in New York shows, many members of the driving public are far more comfortable with sitting in traffic than paying tolls or riding transit.</p>
The Real Problem With Transit: Lack Of Customer Service
<p>Forget slogans and fancy trains. If transit agencies just focused on getting people where they need to go in a consistent, reliable (and preferably quicker) way, more people would abandon their cars.</p>
A New Era Of Urban Parks?
<p>In response to the growing demand for urban greenspace, cities around the nation on working on plans for large new parks -- rivaling the urban park boom during the 19th or early 20th century.</p>
Los Angeles Official Takes Up Anti-Density Cause
<p>Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has becoming increasingly outspoken against the city's new density bonus, saying it goes against the will of residents and will contribute to the destruction of stable neighborhoods.</p>
Five Communities That Have Avoided The Subprime Meltdown
<p>While most of the country is feeling the pain of the subprime mortgage crisis, these communities have managed to fly under the radar.</p>