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.

Gowanus Rezoning Clears New York's City Planning Commission
A controversial rezoning plan is moving toward the finish line in Brooklyn.

'RideKC Next': High-Frequency Grid and On-Demand Service Coming in 2022
The transit system of the future is coming soon to Kansas City.

Supertall Luxury Residential Towers Reaching New Heights
If you thought residential buildings had reached their maximum potential for livable height, just wait a few years.

Bend First to Comply With Oregon's Statewide Upzoning Law
Oregon made history in 2019 by being the first state to adopt statewide legislation to end single-family zoning. Now, Bend is the first city of more than 25,000 people to comply with that historic legislation.

Saved by the $3.5 Billion U.S. Budget Package: a Gigaton of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As the details of the $3.5 trillion budget package under development in the U.S. House of Representatives begin to emerge, so to do the potential climate change benefits.