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.

An Investigation of the Nation's Increasing Number of Pedestrian Fatalities
PBS New Hour takes a deep dive into the climbing number of pedestrian deaths in the United States—now at their highest level in almost three decades.

Accessory Dwelling Units Legalized, Finally, in San Francisco
Legislation approved this week finally brings the city of San Francisco up to date with state laws approved in 2016.

The Environmental Costs of Slow, Empty Buses
Flagging ridership on Metro buses in Los Angeles redoubles the need to speed buses up with dedicated lanes, hopefully recovering lost riders and finding some news ones along the way, too.

The More MARTA Plan Has a Plan
After a public engagement process and a political process played out in 2018, MARTA and the city of Atlanta can now focus on what gets built, when, according to the $2.7 billion More MARTA capital investment plan.

Proposed Law Would Require Community Benefits Negotiations for 'High Impact' Projects in Philadelphia
A recently proposed law would attempt to force developers and neighborhood projects to the table to negotiate large projects in the city of Philadelphia.