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.

Price Triples for Keeping Asian Carp Out of Lake Michigan
It's been expensive year for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' efforts to prevent environmental catastrophe in Lake Michigan.

Freeway's Demise Will Fund Light Rail Grade Crossing Improvements in Pasadena
The final nails have been put in the coffin of the I-710 extension, and now communities like Pasadena are getting ideas about how to spend Measure R funding once reserved for the unwanted freeway.
Waterfront Ballpark Plans in the Work in Portland
The Portland Diamond Project is trying to bring Major League Baseball to Portland.

The New Rental Market: Get Less for More
New analysis from RENTCafe finds apartments shrinking while prices are expanding.

6 Ways the Minneapolis 2040 Plan Changed
Any aambitious plan will have to change on its way to adoption. The Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan not only kept many of its core ambitions intact through the political process, but expanded them.