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 Designs for Obama Presidential Center Revealed
According to the architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, the Obama Presidential Center is still falling short of the iconic status that can serve as a landmark for the South Side of Chicago.

A New 26-Mile Light Rail Line Considered for Charlotte
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) would like to add an ambitious, expensive project to its capital investment plans, but funding the project is more daunting than the last time the system expanded.

Mapping Scientology's Expanding Footprint in Clearwater, Florida
The Tampa Bay Times has published the results of an ambitious investigation, complete with an interactive feature that documents the rise of the Church of Scientology as the predominant landowner in Clearwater, Florida.

Bus Rapid Transit Chosen for Big Mayo Clinic-Adjacent Economic Development Program
Rochester, the third-most-populous city in Minnesota and birthplace of the Mayo Clinic, has approved a plan to build bus rapid transit.
Art for Economic Development in Rural Communities
The most recent of funding for Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) design workshops includes an example of an arts center in Maine.