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.

Stop Saying 50 Percent of Humans Live in Cities
The idea that half the world's population has moved to cities, with more coming soon, misses a fundamental fact about cities: many of them are actually suburbs.

Long-Term Transportation Planning Underway in Northeast Ohio
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is in the community outreach phase of a long-term transportation planning effort. The plan is expected to be complete by the end of 2016 and ready for board approval early in 2017.
Austin Sends Big Planned Unit Development Back to the Drawing Board
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department put the proposed Grove at Shoal Creek Planned Unit Development on a short timeout earlier this month, but only to negotiate final details of the massive project.

Waze vs. Residential Neighborhoods
Accounts of disgruntled residents responding by any means necessary to the flood of cars beckoned by the whims of navigation apps like Waze are spreading across the country.

Yelp for Transit? San Francisco Will Give it a Shot
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will invite ratings from transit users via the existing MuniMobile app. That's brave.