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.
Why Some Smart Home Gadgets Are Dumb
An article in Quartz laments the underwhelming results of a generation of gadgets intended to make houses technologically enabled.
Report: Increase Gas Tax to Solve Illinois' $43 Billion Transportation Problem
There's good news and bad news in a new report on the state of transportation infrastructure in the state of Illinois.
Kansas City Program to Turn Vacant Lots Into Urban Forest
The Kansas City Land Bank has the funding to back up plans to begin transforming blighted, vacant lots into thriving groves of poplar trees.
Bus Rapid Transit Route Planned for Detroit to Ann Arbor
The bus rapid transit route connecting Downtown Detroit with Ann Arbor, or also the Detroit Metro Airport, is under consideration as part of a master planning effort by the Regional Transit Agency.
Upstart Uber Competitor Will Offer Equity to Drivers
Juno, a new transportation network company launching to a small group of testers in New York this month, is hoping to shake up the business model adopted by its predecessors in the field.