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.
Cool Roofs in the Dog Days of Summer
The Dallas Morning New details Dallas' cool roof program, one of the ways the city tries to cool down its heat island effect.
A New Bridge to Connect Brooklyn and Queens
The new Kosciuszko Bridge offers multi-modal passage between boroughs, views to the Manhattan skyline, and probably impossible promises of congestion reduction.
The Benefits of Transit Fare Capping
There's more than one way to incentive transit ridership with fare capping.
Governor, Regulators Standing Up to Dirty Energy Interests in North Carolina
Can a Democratic governor in a state controlled by a Republic legislature achieve meaningful emissions reductions from the state's energy utilities? North Carolina Governor Gary Cooper is trying.
Editorial: The Best New Chesapeake Bay Bridge Is No New Chesapeake Bay Bridge
The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board finds numerous faults with the state of Maryland's preliminary investigation of an idea to add another bridge across the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis.