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.
Caltrans to Ditch Level of Service for Vehicle Miles Traveled
Unlike for land use regulations, state law doesn't require Caltrans to switch from Level of Service to Vehicle Miles Traveled in measuring the environmental impact of projects. The state department of transportation is making the change anyway.
How One Wealthy, Historic Neighborhood Maintains an Exclusionary Status Quo
Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron has had enough with the exclusionary planning tactics of the neighborhood of Society Hill to start calling it the "Republic of Society Hill."
The Top Urban Planning Books of 2019
The decade wraps up with another engaging crop of highly readable and recommendable books on the subject of urban planning. There's a lot to learn, on many related subjects, among this year's top planning books.
Lessons in 'Transformative Placemaking'
Brookings has collected a year of data on an experiment it calls "transformative placemaking," with case studies from up and down the East Coast.
D.C. Speeds Up Protected Bike Lane Plans
The District Department of Transportation last week promised to double the pace of its planned construction of protected bike lanes, but advocates say the District still isn't doing enough to provide safe accommodations for people on bikes.