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.
Crowdfunding for Affordable Housing
A new experiment in funding affordable housing is underway in Seattle.
When it Comes to Road Diets, Evidence Doesn't Matter
Drivers are a powerful enough lobby to overcome all evidence of the need to redesign streets for safety. Examples from Maryland and Virginia provide the latest case studies in Vision Zero futility.
Trump Creates Council to Study 'Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing Development'
President Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order today that will create a federal-level group to study the obstructionist practices of local governments and the potential for a federal response.
State of the Nation's Housing: Housing Production, Supply Still Coming Up Short
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released its annual "The State of the Nation's Housing" report this morning. There are some signs of post-recession normalcy in the housing market for high-income earners.
'Yes in My Back Yard Act' Introduced in the U.S. Senate
U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Indiana) has introduced a new law that picks sides in the housing debate, though the law is unlikely to produce structural change in the development process the near future.