Gus is completing his Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Prior to arriving at UCLA, he worked as an organizer for LGBTQ rights in his home state of Oregon, and later as a legislative assistant to the Oregon Secretary of State. Gus is interested in the ways that visual culture informs planning and design, the politics of place and space, and urban planning history. He holds a BA in International Relations and Italian Studies from Brown University.

For his IPP Fellowship, Gus is working with Laboratorio Para La Ciudad (Mexico City’s Urban Laboratory) on Peatoniños, a project that aims to liberate and recuperate the streets of Mexico City for children’s play. The idea is that by reclaiming the streets for children we can begin to challenge the dominant autocentric narrative of the city. Gus looks forward to bringing this knowledge and experience back to Los Angeles to continue addressing the spatial injustice faced by children and pedestrians in these autocentric cities.