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.
Community Gardens as Harbingers of Gentrification
Lauren Markham examines the value of community gardens to the bottom lines of developers—because one person's blighted back yard can easily become another person's veggie garden marketing pitch.
Friday Eye Candy: Seven Maps of the NYC Subway
The modernist designer Massimo Vignelli, who created the 1972 version of the New York City Subway map, passed away this week at 83.
Mapping America's Homeless Populations
The Committee to End Homelessness in King County produced a helpful visualization tool that compares the size of homeless populations around the country as well as the type of housing support they receive.
Chicago Regulates Uber and Lyft—but Not Enough to Satisfy Taxi Companies
The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft, but taxi cab companies and their political supporters believe the policy set by the Emanuel Administration doesn't go far enough.
Norman Foster-Designed Tower to be Demolished in Las Vegas
Around the corner from buildings by Daniel Libeskind and Rafael Vinoly (just to name two) in the CityCenter section of the Las Vegas Strip, a never-complete building, designed by Forster + Partners, stood empty for years. Not for long.