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.
How Utah Could End Homelessness by 2015
By implementing a rational, structured policy of providing free apartments for the homeless, the state of Utah has greatly reduced its homeless population and is on pace to eradicate it completely by 2015.
Imagining Silicon Valley Parking Lots as Corporate Housing
A series of renderings asks the question: "What might it look like if tech campuses replaced their parking lots and provided all the necessary housing on-site?"
Study: New Mexico MainStreet Achieves Dramatic Success
A new study shows evidence of dramatic positive impacts for the New Mexico MainStreet program, a state program working in coordination with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
New Study Changes the Narrative on Slums
Researchers are building a more complete archive of life in slums, home to one-third of the urban population of developing countries. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejects assumptions about the benefits of slums.
Critiquing the 'Green' Credentials of the Sochi Olympics
Back in 2009, Olympic officials were claiming that the Sochi Winter Games would be the "greenest" games ever. But besides a large carbon offset, the Olympics' sustainability efforts have been underwhelming.