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.
I-5 Freeway Lid Plans Take Step Forward
A plan to build a cap over Interstate 5 in Downtown Seattle has taken a small but significant step forward.
Editorial Sounds Alarms About the 'Illinois Exodus'
The Chicago Tribune sends a message to the political leadership of Illinois and Chicago about population decline, and its causes.
Three Studies That Show Density Doesn't Determine Car Travel
Thirty years after a seminal study attempted to connect increased density with decreased automobile use, several new studies are raising doubts about that central assumption of contemporary planning.
Three Years of New York's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program
One of the more aggressive inclusionary zoning programs in the country has been in place long enough to evaluate for lessons regarding the effectiveness of the controversial affordable housing development tool.
Green Electricity for Lime Scooters
A new program that will incentivize scooter "juicers," the people who collect and charge electric scooters for a fee, to switch to green energy.