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.
Chicago's Lawrence Avenue Is Changing—Is the Neighborhood Ready?
The Lawrence Avenue corridor in Chicago is poised to evolve into "New Lawrence," but as development proposals follow a streetscape improvement project, the community is still sorting out what exactly "new" should mean.
The Curious Case of a Solar-Power-Hating North Carolina Town
A simple case of City Council rejecting a zoning change for a new solar facility blew up into an international case of clickbait trolling.
What Makes San Diego's Climate Plan Different From All the Others
It's been a month of historic announcements in the effort to combat climate change. But a vote today in San Diego might set the standard for ambitious, enforceable action.
Seattle as the 'Next Detroit'
As the automotive industry of Detroit once inherited the wealth and assets of Pittsburgh's steel industry, one writer argues Seattle has now inherited the wealth and assets of the Silicon Valley.
Land Use Policies and the Future of Cities
Land is perhaps the most fundamental consideration in every variety of planning process—the cost of land, the availability of land, the condition of land, etc. A new e-book studies the importance of land to the global urban future.