Housing & community economic development; participatory methods; environmental justice; health equity; community-based data processes; geospatial data visualization.
AJ Kim is a queer trans scholar and community organizer, and a kid of immigrants. They have worked with immigrant rights and environmental justice organizations nationally and internationally for over twenty years. They have a PhD in urban planning (UCLA) and a master’s degree in ethnic studies (UCSD). They have led participatory planning activities in immigrant-dense suburbs of Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Diego, specifically focused on the informal and formal efforts of unauthorized immigrants and refugees working to create safer communities for all across multiple levels of scale and governance. They are an Associate Professor of City Planning in the School of Public Affairs, with affiliations in the Graduate School of Public Health and LGBTQ+ Studies at San Diego State University. Kim is the Project Director and PI of "Geospatial Mapping for Alternative Health Assets", funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2024–27) and direct community-led research teams for im/migrant health equity with project partners based in Oakland, El Paso, New Orleans, and New York City.
Environmental Justice Studio: Towards Equitable Health Outcomes in Low-income Communities of Color
Dale Prize in Urban and Regional Planning Excellence, 2018
Kim et al., “Notes on Abolition in Planning, ”Journal of Planning Literature (Jan 2025).
Kim, A.J., “Welcoming Cities/Unwelcoming States,” Journal of Planning Education and Research (Oct 2024).
Kim, AJ., "From Mexicali to the Gaza Strip: (Re)designing the Asymmetrical City," INSITE Journal, A Timeless Way to Build, Issue 07 (Fall 2024).
Kim & Chun, “Building Caring Cities, ”Journal of Urban Affairs (June 2024).