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.
Sound Transit Breaks Ground Today on the $3.7 Billion Light Rail Extension
Sound Transit begins construction on the East Link light rail extension. Next stop: 2023, when the line is expected to serve 50,000 riders a day.
One Million Solar Panels and Counting
The United States reached a milestone in solar panel installation earlier this year, after 40 years of the industry attempting to gain a foothold. Now the industry is preparing for "warp speed."
Friday Eye Candy: Where U.S. Roads Correct the Grid
Anyone who has traveled long country roads is familiar with the moment when a road makes a sharp turn to deviate from a direct path. Such "grid corrections" provide the subject for a photography project by Gerco de Ruijter.
Plans for World's Largest Methanol Plant Die in Tacoma
The massive and controversial Tideflats methanol plant proposal will no longer trouble environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest.
New Community Plan to Remake Canada's Capital of Sprawl
Abbotsford is the fifth-largest city in British Columbia by population but the largest by land size. The city's most recent community plan is designed to accommodate new growth without sprawling any farther.