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.

The Cost of Ending Cap and Trade in Ontario: $3 Billion
The fallout from Ontario Premier Doug Ford's decision to pull the province from the Western Climate Initiative, a cap-and-trade program linked with Quebec and California.

Ride Hailing and Travel Behavior: It's Complicated
A pair of new studies add to an emerging scientific model of the effect of transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. The complication: One study reinforces earlier findings, and the other contradicts.

Regional Planning Stuck in Neutral in Chicagoland?
With the approval of the ON TO 2050 regional plan, some advocates see more of the same car-centric planning. Perhaps the state can finally shift the discussion.

The 'Big Dig' Was a Big Catalyst
Over ten years after the Big Dig finally completed construction, more and more people in Boston are willing to say the project was worth all the trouble.

How to Build a Better Bus Stop
The state of a city's bus stops is a good indicator of its commitment to public transit option as a mobility option for all its residents.