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.
Voters Approve Special Sales Tax, Property Tax to Expand Kansas City Streetcar
Voters in a new Transportation Development District supported new taxes to help fund the extension of the Kansas City Streetcar. Despite a paltry turnout, the taxes passed by a wide margin.
Vacant Properties Trouble Tight Housing Markets Too
Minneapolis is, by many accounts, home to a thriving economy. Why then, are there so many vacant properties in the city?
Nice Try, Sharrows
End the sharrow experiment, says this columnist.
First: Oklahoma Can Regulate its Own Coal Ash
Oklahoma will now be able to regulate coal ash disposal without answering to federal regulators.
Ford Planning Residential Units in its Detroit Train Station Adaptive Reuse
Ford will treat the Michigan Central Depot to a mixed-use adaptation.