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.
Eric Adams Opposes Large Brooklyn Apartment Development
The Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City recently announced opposition to a controversial project on a major thoroughfare in Brooklyn.
Duplexes and Townhomes Legalized in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina is the latest city in the United States to relax zoning restrictions in residential neighborhoods as a component of a housing affordability strategy.
Opinion: CDC Eviction Moratorium Is Ineffective, Unnecessary
The effects of the pandemic economic shutdown on the rental market have been far lower than feared—at least at aggregate, not individual, levels. Is an eviction moratorium the most helpful tool at this point in the pandemic?
Innovative Project Aims for Affordable Home Ownership
The Brackett Knoll subdivision is wrapping up construction in Hartford, Connecticut, offering duplexes for sale at reduced rates with built in rental income included.
Five Years Later, 'Smart Cities Challenge' Promise Unfulfilled
The "Smart Cities Challenge" paid Columbus, Ohio $50 million to kick start a revolution of urban technology. The revolution never arrived, according to a recent assessment by Wired writer Aarian Marshall.