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.
On the Importance of 'Legacy Architecture' to Good Places
Following a recent study finding quantifiable economic benefits for neighborhoods with a mix of older buildings, a writer describes the qualities of older buildings that makes the places they occupy feel so special.
High Profile Opposition to Chicago Transit Authority's Flyover Project
A Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic invokes the most influential planning battles in the country's history in critiquing the proposed Red-Purple Bypass Project sought by the Chicago Transit Authority and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Cambridge Tree Map Provides Data on Blossoms and Pollen
"What does a city look like drawn in trees?" Cambridge, Massachusetts recently released an exhaustive database of all the trees on public property around the city.
Does New York City Need More Bank Branches?
The question: "Why are there so many damn banks? Why did we even download this sweet banking app that's supposed to do everything short of pushing cash out of the headset jack?"
Multi-Family Driving Recovery in Housing Starts
New residential construction data released by the U.S. Census reveals that the construction of traditional, single-family detached housing will retain its diminished role in the American economy for the time being.