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.
Free Falling: Productivity of U.S. Construction Industry Half of 1960s Level
While productivity improves in almost every sector of the U.S. economy, it's dropping quickly in the construction industry.
California to Consider 12 New Water Storage Facilities
A total of $2.7 billion will be awarded to a potential list of 12 water storage projects, thanks to funding from California's Proposition 1, approved by voters in 2014.
Cracking Found in Frame of Philadelphia's Comcast Technology Center Tower
The soon-to-be tallest building in the nation not located in New York City of Chicago has a structural issue that required a pause on construction. The issue is not expected to be catastrophic, however.
U.S. DOT Brings Maryland Purple Line Back From the Dead
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland are expected to sign a funding agreement next week for the Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
An Investigation Into Trump and Carson's HUD
You might have been waiting for this article, and its many revelations about life inside the Department of Housing and Urban Development, since January or November.