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.
Audit: Los Angeles' Density Bonus Program Falls Short of Expectations
Josie Huang reports on a new audit from the Los Angeles City Controller finding that the city's density bonus program is falling short of its goals for delivering affordable housing.
In Denver: Rents Drop as Record Numbers of Units Enter the Market
The number of apartments in Denver has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, the cost of rent is plummeting. Expect to hear this example cited by YIMBYs many times in the coming months.
Recalling Canada's Former, Climate Change-Denying Prime Minister
There are similarities between the policy actions of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government and the nascent Trump Administration. The differences in approach between these two examples are also telling.
Advocates Finalizing a Wisconsin-Spanning Bike Route
U.S. Bike Route 30, as the planned route that will cross Wisconsin is called, is part of a vision for a national system of bike routes.
Friday Eye Candy: Comparing a Square Mile of the World's Famous Cities
Street networks and city blocks, reduced to their fundamental attributes, reveal the vast differences between cities.