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.

12 Big Ideas for the New York City of the Future
Faced with a surging population and a need for big new ideas, Crain's recently tasked 12 design and planning firms to conjure up creative ideas for the city.

Bikeshare Launches in Baltimore
It took six years and two returns from the dead, but Baltimore now has its own bike share system.

Advocates to Harvard: We Don't Need Another Study
After receiving a large grant to study poverty and income inequality, the Hutchins Center of African and African-American Studies finds itself having to justify the need to study the problems, rather than spending that money on programs or services.

Billboards Having a Moment in Philadelphia
A proposal to add billboard advertisements to a pair of city-owned buildings come at a time when residents, and the federal government, are already concerned about the proliferation of billboards in the city.
San Jose Plots a Major Street Overhaul
Chynoweth Avenue in San Jose, California is notorious for speeding, illegal dumping, and prostitution. The city's remedy includes a fairly comprehensive reconfiguration of the street and its infrastructure.