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.
Which Cities Segregate Poverty Most Completely?
For the second installment in a five-part series on economic segregation in U.S. metros, Richard Florida examines the cities where poverty stays most hidden from "everyone else."
Development Benefits of Minneapolis’ Blue Line Scrutinized
A new paper in the Regional Science and Urban Economics journal presents a lukewarm review of the Minneapolis Blue Line’s impact on development through 2010—doing little to buoy the market during the Great Recession.
Bookstores of All Sizes Struggling in Manhattan
Manhattan has long been one of—if not the—centers of the literary universe. What does it mean for the borough if bookstores—independent or otherwise—can no longer afford the rent?
Mapping the Health of America’s Counties
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, this week released the annual County Health Rankings. The rankings aim to inspire healthy community action.
Friday Funny: Copy-Cat Planner Can't Help It
The Onion has once again focused its satirical gaze on the art and science of planning, this time telling the fictional story of a planner in Des Moines, Iowa, who just couldn't help but copy Philadelphia.