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.

Freeway Project, Previously Named as a 'Boondoggle,' Defeated by Environmental Lawsuit
What could have been the first new freeway for Los Angeles County in decades might now only mark the end of an era.

2019 Great Places in America Announced
The American Planning Association has announced four neighborhoods, six public spaces, and three streets as 2019 Great Places in America honorees. Nominations for the people's Choice category are still open.

Editorial: Use TIF to Fund Transit Improvements in Chicago
The Chicago Tribune supports the use of tax increment financing to fund a $2.1 billion project to revamp the Red and Purple lines on the CTA system in Chicago.

Congestion Tipping Point: Uber and Lyft Banned from LAX
Automobile traffic to LAX has increased by half in the last decade, and congestion has passed a tipping point.

Early Reviews for New York's Big Car-Free Experiment
Last week, 14th Street in Manhattan was closed to almost all varieties of automobile traffic, freeing up one of the slowest bus routes in the city. How will residents, workers, and commuters react?