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.

Housing Market 2016 in a Best of Times, Worst of Times Moment
The story of the U.S. housing market is the story of growing inequality.

What a Conference for YIMBYs Looks Like
The advocacy group Better Boulder held the YIMBY 2016 conference earlier this month.

Pennsylvania Legislation to Address Billboard Impacts
Residents in towns around Pennsylvania are calling for regulations to better understand and mitigate the impacts of large digital and static billboards.

West Coast Cities Redefining Height With Batch of New Skyscrapers
The title of tallest building west of the Mississippi, property of the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles since 1989, will soon go to another building. What does that say about the post-recession of West Coast cities?

District DOT Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Bus Transit
Washington, D.C. is the latest place to find traffic lanes emblazoned with a bright red coat of paint to welcome transit while barring cars.