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.

A Transit Consultant's Take on Flying Cars
A journalist asked, so Jarrett Walker answered.

More Than One North American Political Campaign Ignoring Housing and Transit
When it comes to ignoring matters of housing affordability and public transit during an election cycle of great significance, the United States is not the exception. Candidates in Canada's 2019 Federal Election have mastered the same trick.

The Central Park Squirrel Census
Some people ask why anyone would want to do a census of all the squirrels in Central Park. Others ask why not?

The Interior Secretary's Past Lobbying Work Scrutinized
A project to raise the height of the Shasta Dam, dead in the water before the Trump administration, is moving forward now that a former lobbyist for the project is the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

New Commute Data: Telecommuting on the Rise
The news from the most recent American Community Survey data isn't entirely bad for advocates hoping that Americans will switch to more efficient, less impactful forms of commuting.