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.
Can Data Help Boston Improve its Nightlife?
Boston is considering regulatory changes that would extend the hours of late night services like alcohol sales and transit. An editorial in the Boston Globe recommends a data-driven approach for deciding where to implement the nightlife experiment.
Study: American Housing Preferences Mimic American Politics
Emily Badger pulls particularly salient information from last week's Pew Research Center's report on political attitudes: liberals prefer the city while conservatives prefer small towns and rural areas.

The Dawn of the Toll Era in Dallas
Some are calling it a political crisis, but no matter the cause of the trend, toll roads are about soon to be a ubiquitous fact of life in North Texas.
Work Begins on Atlanta's Liberty Plaza
Liberty Plaza will replace a parking structure across from the George State Capitol. The plaza could also one day become home to a monument to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Will Manufacturing and Trade Work for Florida's Recovery?
Adie Tomer challenges local and state leaders in Florida to leverage its strengths in trade and logistics for a more production-oriented economy—to the benefit of the long-term economic prosperity of the state.