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.
Lack of Traffic Safety Enforcement Blamed for Vision Zero Failures
Education, engineering, and enforcement are the three "e's" of Vision Zero in San Francisco. A lack of on of those "e's"—enforcement—might explain why more people are dying on the city's streets this year that any year since the city adopted Vision Z
Green Building Improvements Have a Friend in PACE
An under-reported loan model called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, financed $660 million of sustainable building improvements from 2016 through 2018.
L.A. Times Editorial Supports Redevelopment 2.0
California's redevelopment program was killed during the budget fallout of the Great Recession. Now more state politicians see how tax increment devoted to development investments could be one tool int he state's affordable housing crisis.
Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties
Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.
Tiny Homes and Big Opportunities in Detroit
A new tiny homes community offers vulnerable residents a chance to homeownership.