I Used to Work in a Steel Mill

Urban Planning Policy Analyst Joan Ling Is an L.A. County “Woman of the Year”

Joan Ling is a real estate advisor and policy analyst in urban planning. Before she participated in a panel discussion about city transportation’s effects on housing costs, she talked in the Zócalo green room about cat videos, her former life as a real estate developer, and getting beer for a quarter in Pittsburgh.

Q:

What does it take to get you on the dance floor?


A:

A few margaritas.


Q:

Who’s someone you’d love to be interviewed by?


A:

Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters.


Q:

When you were a kid, what did you want to be as a grown-up?


A:

I had no idea. I’m not one of those people who wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer from third grade on.


Q:

What’s your favorite part of teaching, now that you’ve taken that up after years of urban development?


A:

The freedom to teach whatever I think is important, and the students being interested in and getting excited about the work that I do.


Q:

What’s your least favorite part of teaching?


A:

Grading papers.


Q:

What keeps you up at night?


A:

I have no problem sleeping these days. When I was a developer, it was getting the community to say yes to my projects.


Q:

You were named an L.A. County “woman of the year” this year. What was the best thing about that?


A:

I’m very grateful and honored that Sheila Kuehl [Los Angeles County District 3’s supervisor] recognized me. She’s one my “sheroes.”


Q:

Where’s your favorite place to go in Pittsburgh, where you got your undergraduate degree?


A:

There are a number of years that are important. Switching from being a developer to being a lecturer, that was important because it frees my summers for travel.


Q:

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?


A:

Well, one of the most defining jobs that I’ve had was working as a laborer at a steel mill in Pittsburgh. I was one of the first waves of women to go work in the mills.


Q:

How do you procrastinate?


A:

Watch cat videos. Or generally just be online.


*Photo by Aaron Salcido.