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.

All That Could Have Been: Transit Planning in Maryland
Maryland approved ambitious plans for public transit expansion around Baltimore in 2002, but almost none of it became a reality. With a new plan in the works, transit boosters assess the loss of a generation's worth of progress.

Chicago's Tallest Office Building Since 1990 Cracks the Top 20 Tallest in the City
The Bank of America Tower is the newest skyscraper to line the Chicago River.

Food Forests Bear Fruit in the Atlanta Region
The Atlanta suburb of Lilburn is the latest city to plant fruit trees for the purpose of feeding the public.

Household Sizes Growing in the U.S. for the First Time in 160 Years
This decade is likely to produce demographic news that will shock anyone born after 1850.

A $100 Billion Wishlist for Bay Area Transit
Project priorities for the Faster Bay Area ballot initiative, speculatively proposed for the November 2020 election, have not yet been specified. But BART's new general manager has ideas about the money could be spent.