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.
In 2018, Autonomous Vehicles Drove 2 Million Miles in California
Autonomous vehicles are racking up quite a track record in California—and fewer of the miles driven by autonomous vehicles in 2018 had humans at the wheel than in 2017.
Now Illegal in D.C.: Biking With Headphones
A new law in the nation's capital will fine people on bikes caught listening to headphones as a Vision Zero traffic safety measure.
Voters to Decide the Legal Status of Lake Erie
Voters in Toledo, Ohio could grant personhood status to the polluted and abused Lake Erie.
The Artist of the Planning Department
The Boston area's Metropolitan Area Planning Council has an Artist-in-Residence Program that brings arts to the table as an integral component of the planning process.
Friday Fun: Oscars-Nominated Films Featuring Place in a Starring Role
Many of the movies nominated for Oscars this year gain a great deal of thematic and storytelling meaning from their locations.