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.
Opinion: Don't Forget the Benefits of Urban Freeways
After reading this recent opinion piece by Bill Fulton, some pro-transit and anti-highway advocates might be thinking, "Et tu, Bill Fulton?"
Want Commuter Benefits? Sometimes it Helps to Ask
A story about how a simple proposal, made by a resident, produced results in the New Jersey borough of Paramus.
Multi-Family Development in Portland Stalls at a Controversial Crossroads for the City
On the one hand, the city of Portland is facing pressure to add new housing and development to meet the needs of a growing population and an expensive real estate market. On the other hand, change is never easy.
Plan Bay Area 2040 Sets Ambitious Housing and Transportation Agenda
The last time the San Francisco Bay Area got together to set a regional agenda on housing and transportation, the Sierra Club and the Tea Party teamed up to oppose the Plan Bay Area. A draft of the new Plan Bay Area 2040 hopes to avoid the drama.
Incremental Development: The Craft Beer Model of Walkable Urban Places
An interview on the Congress for New Urbanism's Public Square examines the concept of incremental development—how it can benefit communities all over the country and how it improves on a century of large-scale development.