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.
Housing Starts Hit Two-Year Low
Housing starts and permits are slowing nationwide. The current pace of construction would have been considered a trough in pre-recession economic cycles.
Maps: Where Teachers Can Afford Housing in California
Teachers can't afford to live in the neighborhoods where they teach in California—the biggest gap between teachers' wages and the cost of housing is found in the Bay Area.
What Was Lost When Streetcars Stopped Still Hasn't Been Found
City's don't need vintage streetcars; cities need the frequency and convenience of service delivered by the streetcar lines from days past.
New Policy Would Likely Close Commuter Rail Stations on the South Side of Chicago
A new station evaluation policy, expected for adoption by the Metra Board of Directors in May, would make it easier to shut down "underperforming" stations.
'Better Buses Action Plan' Would Give Buses New Priority in New York
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is promising to speed the city's buses by 25 percent by next year.