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.
Nashville Neighborhood Conducts Car-Free Experiment
A neighborhood in West Nashville is in the midst of a "Don't Car Campaign," concluding on September 25, to determine just how walkable and transit-friendly their homes can be.
Moses and Jacobs: A Drama Fit for an Opera (Coming Soon to a Stage Near You)
Yes, the world of urban planning will soon get a star turn of epic proportions—as the focus of an opera currently in development and scheduled to debut in New York City in 2017.
Study: 'Severely Cost-Burdened Renters' Could Increase 25 Percent
A study by Enterprise Community Partners and Harvard's Joint Center on Housing Studies includes dire predictions about the future of an already-deeply-troubled rental market.

Visualizing the Housing Stock of American Cities
A simple chart allows an easy comparison between the varieties of housing that comprise the housing stock of U.S. cities.

On the Altered Landscapes of the Wildfire West
The heightened intensity of wildfires in the Western United States, along with other human factors, are short-circuiting the natural processes of rebirth.