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.
San Diego, Marin County Heading the Opposite Direction on Housing Policy
The mayor of San Diego has acknowledged the ongoing crisis of housing affordability by pushing to make it easier to build housing at higher densities and with less parking. Marin County…not so much.
Developers Ready for New Opportunities Along the Chicago River
Chicago's North Branch Framework Plan and Design Guidelines, approved in May, is already having the expected effect: big, flashy developments in the pipeline.
Big Piece of Detroit's 'Inner Circle Greenway' Falls Into Place
Detroit will spend $4.3 million to buy land along the Detroit Terminal Railroad for the purposes of creating a 7.5-mile leg of the planned Inner Circle Greenway.
Friday Fun: A Mario Kart Tour of Japan
Foreign tourists are taking to the streets of Japan dressed as Mario, Luigi, and more of their friends from the Nintendo universe.
In Memoriam: Branden Klayko, 'Broken Sidewalk' Blogger
The tributes to Branden Klayko, one of the hardest working and influential writers on the subjects of urbanism, have been steady and heartfelt.