An Introduction to Low Velocity

Bryan

Jan 1, 2024 — 1 min read

Hello, and happy new year! I'm Bryan and I’m an urban planner and affordable housing advocate living in Portland, Oregon. I hold a Master of Urban Planning (M.U.P.) degree from the University of Michigan and have worked in the planning and community development fields for over 15 years, mostly in the Detroit and Portland regions.

This blog will serve as an outlet for my thoughts and opinions on cities, land use planning, architecture, real estate, affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, economic development, and geography. Primarily, I want to explore current topics surrounding cities and the planning profession in a way that’s easily digestible. My hope is that topics covered here will be of interest and value to the public generally, but also others in the planning and allied fields.

My motivation for this blog is to improve public discourse around urban planning by demystifying the development process, providing a better understanding of the planning profession itself, and stress testing some mainstream planning thoughts and philosophies. Ideally, I’d like to find some middle ground between challenging public perceptions of the planning field while also pushing professionals themselves to be more critical of their own work.

Since this is new to me, it will probably take me a bit to find my voice and style. I’ll stumble and fail often, I’m sure. Thanks in advance for allowing me some grace as I work to develop something out of nothing.

Finally, this site is still under construction and you may see changes to its layout and formatting in the future. Let me know if you see anything that‘s not working properly.

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The Most Insufferable Thing About Urbanists

Rereading Jane Jacobs: Reflections on “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”

Despite Our Best Intentions with Street Frontages

The Coming War on Impact Fees