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.
Report Examines the Processes and Effects of Reopening
A large-scale experiment is underway.
An Institutional Racism Syllabus
JSTOR Daily has compiled a syllabus for reading on the causes and consequences of institutional racism.
Opposing the Militarization of Police in Urban Areas
An impassioned plea for police not to escalate the violent and angry scenes that have punctuated the peaceful protests of the past week, as desired by key figures in the Trump administration as well as the president himself.
House Democrats Would Increase Transit Spending, Still Spend More on Highways
House Democrats proposed the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act as a five-year plan for transportation spending at the federal level. The bill is unlikely to make it any further than the House.
Advocates Respond to the Role of Public Transit in Protests and Arrests
The commandeering of buses for police to transport arrested protestors is raising questions about the allegiances of transit agencies in the United States.