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.
A Model Plan for Greening Suburban Downtowns
F. Kaid Benfield provides analysis of the Bethesda Downtown Plan, calling the plan for the bustling Maryland suburb an opportunity to set a standard of urban sustainability for other communities.
A U.K. Housing Policy Wishlist for 2015
Oliver Wainwright pens a wishlist of urban policies for 2015—the list focuses on issues of housing and development.
RFQ Released for Atlanta's Planned 'Airport City'
The city of Atlanta is moving forward with a plan to upgrade the world's busiest airport to "Airport City" status.
Op-Ed: Time for the Bay Area to Embrace Regional Planning
An op-ed by the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board takes cues from London's regional transportation planning efforts in an argument supporting regional planning for the San Francisco-San Jose Bay Area.
An Aerial Photography Tool for Planners
File under tools for the tool kit: Jarrett Walker of Human Transit shares details about Nearmap, an aerial photography tool that serves as a helpful alternative to Google Earth.