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.
Updated: Statewide Upzoning Falls Short Again in California
For the third year in a row, an effort to increase density near transit in statewide in California has stalled in the legislature.
I-45 Widening Plan Nears the Finish Line in Houston
The public is getting a chance to give feedback on the city's proposed changes to a project that would realign and widen Interstate 45 near downtown Houston.
Democrats Reveal a $760 Billion Transportation Framework
Congressional Democrats hope transportation infrastructure can be a winning political point during a campaign year following the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Revealing the Secret Landlords of U.S. Real Estate
Amidst a crisis of housing affordability around the country, one media organization is leveraging public records law to discover answers to questions, long obscured from the public, about who controls the real estate market.
Proposed Law Would End Development Review Exemption for Homeless Shelters
If passed, a new law would require homeless shelter developments in New York City to undergo the full Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.