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.

Dissecting the Eviction Crisis
Attention to the human and economic costs of evictions predate the pandemic, but the economic disruption of the past two years has increased the need for better tools to measure and respond to evictions.

Once San Francisco's 'Grandest Boulevard,' Van Ness Almost Done With Another Makeover
The Van Ness Improvement project took almost two decades to cross the finish line, but it's almost there.

Toronto Reconsidering its Parking Requirements
Parking reform is reaching new frontiers.

Fast-Rising Rents: Cause or Effect of Institutional Real Estate Investors?
More media attention for the growing influence of large, institutional investors on the housing market.

The Top Urban Planning Books of 2021
Planetizen's annual list of the top urban planning books of the year is here—maintaining a tradition that dates back to 2002.