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.

How Built Environments Hyper-Activate Evolution
Welcome to a post-human era of biological evolution. Strap on your seat belts.

Dallas Planning Light Rail (Which Could Become a Subway) and a Streetcar
Downtown Dallas could have an embarrassment of riches on its hands, if it figures out how to make plans for a Downtown streetcar coordinate well with a new Downtown light rail route.

The Silicon Valley Adds Another Single-Story Overlay District
The footprint of the so-called single-story overlay districts is growing in the Silicon Valley.

Looking to Add More Trees? Mind the 'Sidewalk Gray Zone'
A case study provided by the MillionTreesNYC program offers insight into complicated territorial boundaries that can challenge urban greening projects.

Critiquing the Implementation of Seattle's Pedestrian Master Plan
A status update of the Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan leaves a writer wondering if the backlog of pedestrian infrastructure maintenance will grow while only a few planned projects get built.