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.
Cleveland Planning a New Bikeway on the Model of the Cultural Trail of Indianapolis
The city of Cleveland's first protected bike path has planning commission approval. The protected path is a component of the city's ambitious bike infrastructure plans.
Change Is Coming to Wrigleyville (Other Than Playoff Baseball)
The Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago will have a national audience this week for the first time since 2003. The neighborhood has changed, and is poised for even more change.

Making the Case for Planning
Planetizen Managing Editor James Brasuell recently gave the Pitkin Lecture at the Pennsylvania state chapter of the American Planning Association's annual conference. An adapted and excerpted version of that lecture follows.
A New Bridge Opens Today in Suburban Pittsburgh; An Old Bridge Closes
A new bridge across the Alleghany River will connect Oakmant and Harmar. Another bridge located in nearby Pittsburgh, made infamous by John Oliver, closed earlier this week.
When a Summer Resort Town Finds Year-Round Success
Northern Michigan's "premier summer resort town" finds itself embroiled in a heated development controversy, reflecting that town's changing population.