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.
New York Department of City Planning Adds an Office of Regional Planning
With hot-button issues like the Hudson Tunnel crisis forcing a new perspective about the connection of New York city to its surrounding region, Mayor de Blasio has responded by creating a new office of regional planning.
Want to Make a Better City? Build a Better Bus System
It's simple, according to this Washington Post column: better buses make a better city.
Goodbye School Bus: Hello City Bus
Recognizing that providing transit passes to students costs about the same as operating a system of buses in-house, some schools are giving students access to public transit.
Open Streets as Teachable Moments
"There is just too much to learn," from open streets events, says Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron.
Large Capital Infusion for New York's Community Parks Initiative
$285 million in capital dollars through 2019 will help fund parks in New York not called the High Line and lacking high-profile private backing.