Email Address: jbsanjuan@alum.up.edu.ph

About

My name is Jayson Edward San Juan. I am a licensed Filipino urban planner and a public affairs professional specializing in environmental planning, local governance and development planning, and project management. I currently hold the position of City Government Assistant Department Head II (Chief, Community and Urban Poor Affairs Office) at the City Government of Malabon.

Prior to my current position, I was designated as Head Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff to the City Mayor of Malabon and concurrent Head of the Internal Audit Services.

Before joining local government, I worked as a deputy director in a lobbying firm, as a congressional chief of staff in the House of Representatives, and as an executive assistant (technical) in the Department of Trade and Industry.

Outside work, I am an active member of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP), where I served as its National President and as Chapter President of the National Capital Region.

I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UPNCPAG), where I occasionally lecture on urban and metropolitan governance. While in university, I served as the 96th Editor-in-Chief of the Philippine Collegian, UP’s official weekly student publication.

I occasionally contribute thought pieces in urban planning and local development to various publications.

Areas of research and professional interests

A. Care-centered urban planning and livable cities

B. Land use and local development planning

D. Policy research, analysis, and communication/advocacy

C. Planning for sustainable transportation

E. Project management

F. Political campaign management and government relations

Open for collaborations and partnerships

A. Consultancy services in Comprehensive Land Use Planning (CLUP), Comprehensive Development Planning (CDP), zoning, and local project management

B. Conduct of project feasibility studies

D. Political and campaign management (from campaign strategy to governance/implementation)

C. Transportation master planning

E. Conduct of skills trainings in policy analysis and public engagement

F. Media interviews on urban planning and governance issues

Latest blog posts

Featured
Poók Tipunan: The Walled City as a third place
Poók Tipunan: The Walled City as a third place

A genuine third place requires an "ethic of care," a commitment to providing comfort or ginhawa through better shade, more inclusive public seating, and a more robust integration of the community that actually lives within the walls. In its maiden article in the blog series, "Poók Tipunan," we examine Intramuros, the Walled City, as a third space that invites the pedestrian to linger and connect through accessibility, walkability, and aesthetics.

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Rethinking Philippine urbanism through Nolan Gray’s "Arbitrary Lines"
Rethinking Philippine urbanism through Nolan Gray’s "Arbitrary Lines"

While the CLUP is intended to be a visionary document, it is frequently reduced to its zoning component: a static, color-coded map attached to the local ordinance that attempts to freeze a city in time. This approach treats the city like a machine with fixed parts rather than a living, breathing organism. When we prioritize the rigid boundaries of a zone over the actual needs of the people, we end up with "arbitrary lines" that ignore how cities actually grow.

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Public risk, private profit: Unearned increment and land value capture
Public risk, private profit: Unearned increment and land value capture

When an LGU signals where a new highway will run, where a government center will rise, or where a commercial hub will be zoned, speculators move with predatory speed. They engage in "land banking" by purchasing vast tracts of peripheral land at current prices and simply holding them. They do not build; they do not improve; they do not create jobs. They wait for the public to do the work. This is the central irony of urban planning: the very transparency meant to foster orderly growth is the same tool used by private interests to make that growth unaffordable for the public.

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