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.
Wanted: International Goals for Sustainable Urban Development
With the target dates for the Millennium Development Goals set for 2015, the United Nations has begun to create a new set "Sustainable Development Goals." Some are calling for the new goals to include an urban focus.
Density: Difficulties Delivering on Campaign Promises in Minneapolis
The editorial board of the Minneapolis Star Tribune calls out the Minneapolis City Council following a recent decision to protect a one-story building at the cost of a hotel development plan.
Atlanta’s Food Desert Problem
An estimated 500,000 residents of the Atlanta area live without access to grocery stores. A recent article asks the obvious question: “Why can we build multimillion-dollar highway systems and multibillion-dollar stadiums but not more grocery stores?"
Oil and Water: Connected Cars and Privacy
Jeremy Cato pens an editorial on the dark side of connected cars—the data necessary to track and integrate so many card will allow unprecedented invasions of privacy.
Comparing Public Space in New York City and Paris
A recent article examines the ways New York City and Paris support large-scale pedestrian use and support the shared use of public space.