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.

The State of Public Meetings
Dating back to a tradition begun in the 1630s, public meetings are an essential part of the political systems, and planning processes, of U.S. cities. Public meetings are also broken, according to this article.

Successor to Rockefeller's 100 Resilient Cities Formed
The Global Resilient Cities Network (GRCN) has been formed by cities formerly members of the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities program.

Austin Traffic Fatalities Triple in January
In 2015, Austin, Texas adopted a Vision Zero goal to reach zero traffic fatalities.

A Call for Congestion Pricing in Hawaii
Everyone pays a high price for the congestion and pollution of car dependence, according to this article, so maybe drivers should start paying more for the privilege.

Better Maps Would Save Delivery Companies a Ton of Time and Money
A new report estimates the cost of inaccurate maps for delivery companies in the billions of dollars.