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.
Op-Ed: Jane Jacobs Wouldn't Recognize the Cities of Today
Without children at the center of activity, the urban neighborhoods of today offer little compared to the ideals expressed by Jane Jacobs, according to this strongly worded critique of contemporary urbanism.
Special New York Skyscraper Issue: 'Life Above 800 Feet'
The New York Times Magazine has published a big, interactive issue devoted to the skyscrapers of Manhattan.
Electric Cars Hit the Million Mark
The worldwide stock of electric cars hit an impressive, if still superficial, milestone in 2015: one million electric cars currently on the road around the world.
Op-Ed: Don't Ditch Those Industrial Land Uses
An op-ed describes the choice by many cities to prioritize residential projects in old industrial spaces as short-sighted and potentially unjust.
Cars Credited with a Comeback on Main Street
Once only accessible to pedestrians and Metro Rail, Main Street in Buffalo is seeing automobile traffic and business investment again.