Afterword

Writings on place, cities, and the human experience of living in them.

All of my longer writing collected in one place.

Bryan Robb

Bryan Robb

I’m Bryan, an urban planner and musician in the Pacific Northwest. This is where I keep longer writing, field notes, and photographs, usually about cities, books, wandering around, and whatever else has been taking up space in my head lately.

Blog

Latest posts

The Future of Portland Transit Hangs in the Balance

The Future of Portland Transit Hangs in the Balance

The Oregonian podcast Beat Check recently shared an episode titled "A Perilous Moment for Portland Mass Transit" in which it highlighted the growing crisis facing TriMet, Portland's regional transit agency, as it grapples with declining ridership, financial strain, and public perception challenges. While crime on the system has dropped since the pandemic, fare evasion has nearly doubling from 15 percent in 2016 to close to 30 percent in 2024. The agency is pushing for an increase in the payroll

Portland Auditor Releases Progress Report for Residential Infill Project

Portland Auditor Releases Progress Report for Residential Infill Project

In 2017, after about a decade in the affordable housing and community development industry, my career took a turn and I landed in a position as a long range planner in the Portland region. One of the very first projects I worked on was codifying and adopting changes related to Oregon Senate Bill 1051 of 2017. SB 1051 required communities with more than 10,000 people to remove certain barriers to housing production, including giving regulated affordable housing projects priority in the land use

The Myth of the Walkable Corner Store

The Myth of the Walkable Corner Store

For decades, planners have envisioned small, pedestrian-friendly commercial hubs within residential neighborhoods. A local café, a small grocery store, or a retail shop embedded in a walkable area where people can meet their neighbors and run errands without driving. This concept is central to the growing 15-minute city movement, which aims to create neighborhoods where residents can access daily essentials—jobs, schools, parks, groceries—within a short walk or bike ride. As a leader in progres

Field Notes

Recent notes

Rhododendron and Mt. Hood

Rhododendron and Mt. Hood

I finally went skiing on Mt. Hood after living in Oregon for over a decade! In the worst year for snow in a generation! I switched from snowboarding to skiing to same if I'd enjoy it more and I'm glad I did. It was much easier on my body. We rented a place near Rhododendron, a nice little cabin with a fireplace and hot tub. Staying with friends and their kids was an experience I'm not sure we were ready for, but overall it was a good experience. I'm hoping I can make it back at least one more t

Turn, Turn, Turn

Turn, Turn, Turn

It was a busy week full of social events and soccer. My coworker had a BBQ yesterday and I hosted a neighborhood potluck at the park today. I was too busy to take many photos, but it was a good turnout. I’m really trying to organize and build community. It’s the hole in my life I’m trying to change. In the same way, this morning I also went to my second ever Catholic mass. I went alone to the 8 am. I’ve been trying a few churches out to see how I feel about them, community-wise. While I’m agno