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.
Planning in 2022: Year in Review
A review of the major themes, debates, and events of the year in planning that was 2022 (part one of two).
Superfund Project to Deliver Massive Water Supply Boon to Los Angeles
The semi-arid region of Los Angeles is often mistaken for a desert, but the local water supply is also constrained by the environmental sins of the 20th century. The water supply equation of Los Angeles will soon change, however.
Update: Chicago Red Line Extension TIF Approved
The long-anticipated project that will bring the Chicago Transit Authority rail system into transit deserts on the Southside of Chicago is making substantial progress.
Parking Reform for Affordable Housing Production
The Regional Plan Association published “Parking Policy Is Housing Policy: How Reducing Parking Requirements Stimulates Affordable Housing Production.”
Free Transit, But at What Cost?
Opinion: The movement toward fare-free transit might have more to do with optics and politics than planning.