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.
How Bicyclists Paved the Way for the Rise of the Automobile
Sarah Goodyear shares insight into a book by Carlton Reid titled "Roads Were Not Built for Cars," which details the secret history of the bicyclists that helped launch the fledgling automobile industry in the late 19th century.
Interview: Edward Glaeser Makes the Case for Cities
In a lengthy discussion shared by Marquette University, author and Harvard Economics Professor Ed Glaeser lays out the thinking behind his book "Triumph of the City," as exemplified by cities around the country and the world.
When People Say 'Functionally Obsolete' but Really Mean 'Redline'
A MinnPost column finds nefarious purposes at work in the use of a couple of the common buzzwords employed in debates about Minneapolis housing.
#BlackFridayParking Exposes that Empty Feeling
In the most recent iteration of the annual event, social media users around the country submitted images of empty parking lots in front of retail centers on the busiest shopping day of the year.
Critic's Review: 1 World Trade Center 'A Cautionary Tale'
New York Times Architecture Critic Michael Kimmelman unequivocally pans the newly opened 1 World Trade Center as a cautionary tale: "The point is that something better was possible in Lower Manhattan."