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.
A Wind Turbine Acting Like a Palm Tree Delivers Five Times the Electricity
It's still a longshot for full-scale production, but a unique research partnership has produced a unique example of biomimicry: a wind turbine that borrows from palm trees to achieve new levels of energy production.
Feds Coming Around to Level of Service Reform
Streetsblog USA notes that the federal government is following the lead of California in awakening to the negative effects of Level of Service.
Los Angeles' Contentious 'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Explained
The soul of planning in Los Angeles will be up for vote in the citywide election that will occur on the same day as the U.S. presidential election.
Highway Widening Plan Meets Resistance in Birmingham
A petition and a lawsuit are so far the tactics used by local advocates to oppose a plan by the Alabama Department of Transportation to widen an interstate that runs through the heart of Birmingham.
Homeless Are No Longer 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' in Booming Cities
One of the sad contradictions of the revival of core urban areas has been the clash between waves of investment and affluence with large populations of homelessness. Many cities are still coming to terms with the issue, much less solving it.