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.
Op-Ed Examines the High Cost of Free Parking…in Houston
The politics of parking aren't expected to change in the upcoming Houston mayoral election. But an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle is willing to mess with the third rail.
When Mixed Use Goes Too Far
A recent op-ed by ULI Foundation Governor and developer John McNellis argues that too many cities are forcing mixed-use developments into neighborhoods, enabling vacancies and blight in the process.
Hospital Care Returns to the Communities of South Los Angeles
A $250 million project, eight years in the making, returned inpatient hospital care to the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles.
Report: Nashville's Transit Fit for a Smaller City
The Nashville Metro Transit Authority recently released a "State of the MTA" report, detailing the system's need for additional funding to improve in pace with the needs of a growing populace.
The New American Ghost Town: Suburban Office Parks
Suburban office parks are achieving the status of ghost towns in the Washington, D.C. area.