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.
For Lack of Density: Ontario Rejects Toronto's Downtown Plan
Local control loses ground to provincial preemption north of the border.
Slow Drivers Can Be Punished for Hanging Out in the Fast Lane in Minnesota
Minnesota is the latest state to enact fines for a law already on the books requiring slow drivers to merge right. As such laws gain popularity, it's time again to consider the sometimes counterintuitive facts of traffic safety.
LEED Spells Rent Premiums in D.C.
In the multi-family residential market of Washington, D.C., LEED-certified buildings ask higher rents of residents.
Faced With Infamously Bad Traffic, More Atlanta Residents Choose to Telecommute
More people are telecommuting in Atlanta, keeping cars of the road, but the percentages of people driving alone to work, taking transit, and walking or biking to work are holding steady.
Bird's the Word: A Two-Wheeled, Two-Seater Electric Bike
Bird, a brand synonymous with electric scooters, recently unveiled a new electric bike.