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.
450,000 People Live in Food Deserts in the Cleveland Area
A new map reveals the scale of the food desert challenge in Cleveland and environs.
Sidewalk Labs to Test its Smart Cities Ideas in Toronto
Sidewalk Labs LLC, a unit of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., has been awarded a high-profile opportunity to test ideas for "reimagining cities from the Internet up," as its company mantra says. The city of Toronto will be its testing ground.
Study Touts the Public Health Benefits of Dense, Urban Living
A study of British cities find people living in dense urban cores are less likely to struggle with obesity and more likely to exercise—signs of higher quality of life—than their counterparts in suburban environments.
Friday Eye Candy: Denmark's New LEGO House Has Starchitect Pedigree
LEGO fans rejoice! Bjarke Ingels Group has made the LEGO house of your dreams a full-sized reality, and it's stocked full of LEGOs.
Four Ideas to Improve D.C. Buses
It isn't always easy, especially for politicians and engineers, but there are proven ways to save a floundering bus system.