SPUR Board Member Jean-Marie White has lived in San Jose for the last 20 years. He initially relocated from Canada to North San Jose, where he got to experience San Jose’s suburban sprawl first hand. He started to attend community working groups focusing on local trails and BART. His community involvement got him recommended for the American Leadership Forum Urbanism (class XXXVI).
Jean-Marie’s day job is director of engineering for TV streaming clients at Netflix. He wants to support San Jose’s efforts to improve housing, transit and overall urbanization of its core, including a focus on making San Jose a place for people: walkable, bikeable, with great public spaces and a strong sense of identity that is uniquely San Jose.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up in Petit-Rocher, New Brunswick Canada. I went to college in Ottawa, Ontario, to study computer science and moved to San Jose in 1997 to join a startup.
I’m currently the director of engineering at Netflix and I live in Naglee Park, a historical neighborhood of downtown San Jose.
When did you first become interested in cities?
When I was very young, we would travel to Quebec City and Montreal in the summer to visit family. I remember the thrill of seeing a large city skyline in the evening as we approached our destination.
How did you first learn about SPUR?
I started seeing SPUR articles show up on my Facebook feed. They piqued my interest, as I am very much a civic booster.
What's your favorite city and why?
I really like Tokyo. The combination of easy transit, beautiful architecture, concern for the welfare of pedestrians and amazing food is a winning combination in my mind.
Favorite view?
The San Francisco skyline from Angel Island.
Favorite book, work of art or film about cities?
Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities.