Jay Walljasper
Jay Walljasper is an American writer, speaker and community consultant. He explores how new ideas in urban planning, tourism, community development, sustainability, politics and culture can improve our lives as well as the world.Career
Walljasper graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he wrote for the Daily Iowan. He is a Sabo Fellow at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, and Communications Director for The Placemaking Fund. He has worked with organizations such as the National Geographic Society, Kresge Foundation, AARP, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Zones, Minneapolis Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Project for Public Spaces and many others.
For more than 15 years, he was editor of Utne Reader magazine.
His articles have also appeared in Washington Monthly, City Lab, Yes! magazine, Notre Dame magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Midwest Living, Mother Jones, Preservation, New Statesman, Chicago Tribune magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer magazine, Toronto Star, Tikkun, L.A. Weekly, Yes!, E magazine, Le Courrier, The Idler, Rock N Rap Confidential, Planeta Humano, and New Woman. He has been a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler and a travel editor at Better Homes and Gardens.
In 2013, Walljasper was commissioned by the McKnight Foundation to compose an essay for their Food for Thought series addressing future challenges and opportunities in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region.Works
