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.
More Debate About 'Saving' Rust Belt Cities
The populations of at least a dozen major cities declined by more than ten percent between 2000 and 2010, including Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit. How best to regenerate those “legacy cities” is a matter of no small amount of debate.
Excavations Unlock New York City’s Dramatic Geologic Foundation
A decade of subterranean excavations on the Third Water Tunnel, the Second Avenue Subway, and the Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access Project has provided geologists with unprecedented access to New York City’s physical structure.
Bad Architecture, Good Urbanism in Philadelphia
The Mormon Church released renderings for development plans at 16th and Vine in Philadelphia. The plan's grab-bag of historic architecture styles succeeds in urbanism but roots the area in an unfortunate historicism, according to critic Inga Saffron.
Friday Eye Candy: Stunning Overhead Perspectives on Human Interactions with Land
The “Daily Overview” website provides a compendium of high-altitude, overhead photography from around the world.
A Map of Housing Affordability in Each State
A recent report from the National Housing Conference has moderately good news about the housing market—in many states, the number of working households “severely cost-burdened” by the cost of housing dipped slightly in 2012.