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.
Rural America's Sluggish Recovery
A new report the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service details the ways in which rural America has lagged behind metropolitan areas since the Great Recession.
The Top Urban Planning Books of the Decade
These 14 books, selected by Planetizen for lasting relevance and excellence in research and rhetoric, will continue to define the ambitions and the shortcomings of the urban planning field in the decade that was the 2010s.
Seattle Raising Taxes on Uber and Lyft Rides
A new 57-cent tax will help fund affordable housing and a few transportation programs in Seattle.
Watch: The Effort to End Single-Family Zoning in Minneapolis, Explained
PBS NewsHour devoted a ten-minute news segment to the subject of the avant-garde of urban planning: the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan.
The Growing Urban Inequality Gap, Visualized
Inequality is growing faster in large metropolitan areas, according to a New York Times data visualization.