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.
Which Came First: the Road Diet or the Reinvestment?
According to a recent article in Urban Milwaukee, plans for a road diet have preceded a wave of reinvestment in the Walker's Point neighborhood.

What Mayors Talk About When Everyone Is Listening
An annual report analyzing the "State of the City" speeches of 100 mayors finds remarkable consistency in messaging.

Macabre Ethical Dilemmas: Just the Tip of the Iceberg for Robot Cars
The ethical quandaries that will confront self-driving cars as they navigate the world pose a lot of difficult questions. Antonio Loro charts a course for answering these tough questions.

Taxis Taking a Back Seat to Uber and Lyft at Airports
The Bay Area provides a case study of the effect of transportation network companies on ground transportation to and from airports.

Broadband Inheriting the Discriminatory Patterns of Previous Infrastructure Systems
The challenges of bridging the digital divide are exacerbated by the racist legacies of previous infrastructure systems, according to a recent presentation to the New York Regional Plan Association.