about the work

visual
representation
is key

7521 works with partners to tell the stories of a community

The power of a photograph is greater than a thousand words. It captures scenes that can increase the pride of a community to calling a community or group into action to address an issue.

Tobin's background in urban planning contributes to 7521’s mission by capturing site and community-focused stories. By utilizing his photography/multimedia skills and planning and urban design knowledge, he provides partners with photography and storytelling products that amplify people + place.

about the founder

planner + urban designer.
urban explorer.
photographer.

Tobin Stuff is a planner + urban designer and founder of 7521. He is a Korean adoptee who embraces his story to fuel his work and interests. Always up for an adventure, Tobin is an avid explorer of the environment around him. Whether it’s a community improving their local park, children playing along a reclaimed urban stream in Seoul, or high school students in Nairobi working with their community to improve sanitation infrastructure, there are countless experiences and stories he wants to share with the world.

Tobin is a 2020 Master of City Planning graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. During his time at Penn, he explored the role planners and designers have at the intersection of integrated planning efforts, interdisciplinary design, and community engagement through coursework, design studios, and research projects initiated by the Penn Institute for Urban Research and PennPraxis. He also gained, and continues to gain, a deeper understanding of the field’s greatest challenges related to housing affordability, social equity, and under-invested civic assets.

Tobin founded 7521 to use his years of knowledge and prior experience in city and regional planning, urban design, and photography to provide community-focused media which strives to create a better representation of the members of the community who are creating positive change.

The seed of this type of photography began in 2014. A previous work experience with the education non-profit, The Supply, provided him an opportunity to travel to Kenya to help lead a program in informal settlement communities around the capital city of Nairobi. The experience influenced him to look deeper into photographs and amplify the stories of the people and landscapes. The experience also revealed to him the role people and children of all ages can play in advancing strong planning + design visions in their communities.

As a planner + urban designer, I don't view photography & multimedia as a hobby, but as tools that can spur new discussions and provide different perspectives on how we can make the communities we live in a better place today and in the future.