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.
The World's First 'Tesla Town' Coming to Australia
Tesla's 7kWh lithium-ion Powerwall batteries come standard in every house in the planned community of YarraBend. The community is billed as the "suburb of the future."

Participatory Budgeting Catching on in the U.S. and Canada
A new report from Public Agenda tracks the spread of participatory budgeting, and provides guidance for implementing such processes for maximum benefit to public engagement.

San Francisco Shifts Maintenance Burden for Street Trees Back to the City
Three proposed legislative measures would undo one of the more obvious signs of the recession, and return the responsibility for street trees to the city.
#TransitTrends Asks: 'Where Did City Planning Go Wrong?'
The transportation planning app moovel (formerly known as Ridescout) has created a YouTube series called Transit Trends that brings "explainer posts" to a new format.

Ambitious Design Overhaul Proposed for New York Subway Stations and Cars
Some of the New York Subway's stations and cars could be getting a drastically updated look—as soon as 2020.