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.
A New Transit Vision for Southern California's San Gabriel Valley
Light rail transit only recently arrived in its contemporary form to the San Gabriel Valley—first to Pasadena in 2003 before heading further east into the valley in 2016. The future of public transit modes in the region are still under negotiation.
Maine Legislators, in Search of a Fix for Rising Housing Costs, Consider Zoning Reforms
The housing affordability crisis is a legislative priority in the Pine Tree State.
U.S. DOT's 2022 RAISE Grants to Target Emissions Reductions, Racial Equity
The RAISE grant program continues to make history as a distinct departure from U.S. transportation planning tradition.
Development Streamlining Proposal Dies in San Francisco
The doomed effort was Mayor London Breed's third attempt to streamline development in the city.
$50 Billion 'Wildfire Risk Strategy' Targets the Wildland-Urban Interface
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in January announced an ambitious, and only partially funded, new plan to reduce wildfire risks for communities around the United States.