James Brasuell, AICP is the former editorial director of Planetizen and is now a senior public affairs specialist at the Southern California Association of Governments. James managed all editorial content and direction for Planetizen from 2014 to 2023, and was promoted from manging editor to editorial director in 2021. After a first career as a class five white water river guide in Trinity County in Northern California, James started his career in Los Angeles as a volunteer at a risk reduction center in Skid Row. Prior to joining Planetizen, James worked at the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design, as an editor at Curbed LA, as editor of The Planning Report, and as a freelance contributor for The Architect’s Newspaper, the Urban Land Institute – Los Angeles Chapter, FORM, KCET, and the California Planning & Development Report.

How Locals Are Planning to Spend $2.2 Billion in RAISE Transportation Grants, Part Two
Part two of a series of post providing specific information for 164 of the 166 projects recently awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Transportation's RAISE grant funding program.

Funding for Two Transit Projects Approved for the Valley in Los Angeles
Local funding for a new light rail line and upgrades to the G Line (née Orange Line) bus rapid transit route have been approved for the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.

BRT Stations Cut, Project Delayed in Atlanta
Inflation is taking a bite out of planned transportation projects in Georgia. The state's first ever bus rapid transit project provides the latest example of scaled back ambitions.

Redondo Beach’s Housing Element Failed. Now a Developer Is Planning 2,300 Residential Units.
Anti-housing development planning now has consequences in California.

Connecticut Legislator Pushing for Statewide Rent Control
Extreme price hikes in the for-sale and rental markets are pushing the state of Connecticut to consider statewide rent controls like those adopted by Oregon and California in 2019.