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.
Land Bank Achieves Initial Success in Erie County, New York
The former steel town of Lackawanna, in Erie County, New York, is the latest beneficiary of the growing reach of land banks.
Quiet Suburban Road Considered for Toronto's New Subway
Some are calling one of the proposed routes for an extended Scarborough subway route in Toronto a straw man. The discussion about the route provides insight into the city's current transit planning process.
Waterfront Botanical Gardens in the Works for a Derelict Corner of Louisville
A historic neighborhood lost in a flood, covered by a dump, then reclaimed by nature will become the Waterfront Botanical Gardens under terms of a recent land deal.

Meet the New Calatrava-Designed Bridge Under Construction in Downtown Dallas
Everything you wanted to know about the Margaret McDermott Bridge, under construction in Downtown Dallas.
Doubts Raised About OneNYC's Energy Efficiency Goals
Following the April announcement of Mayor de Blasio's OneNYC plan (an update to the Bloomberg Administration's PlaNYC), critics are poking holes in the energy efficiency goals included in the new plan.