Preference Paths: Don’t go where?
I love it when people make their own path! They’re all over the place [and even have a Flickr group dedicated to their existence]. This is along Minnehaha Creek in South Minneapolis. This section of the trail has been closed for the better part of a year for safety reasons because of flood damage. As … Read more
Minnesota’s $125m Interchange is not “Economic Development” (Part 1)
I stumbled across this quote and couldn’t help but question the “road building=economic development” orthodoxy that plagues the status quo; This free-flowing corridor is gonna save lives. It’s gonna save time. It’s gonna save money and it’s gonna strengthen the economy of our state and our region. – Jon Ulrich, Scott County Commissioner Highway 169 … Read more
A Ride Through Town: Part 3 of 3
On Makeshift Urbanism The best parts of Cities are unplanned. I love when people, despite regulated efforts against it, blaze their own pathway. The easiest illustration is that of the “dirt path” – which is a common sight along bike and walking paths in Minneapolis. It often goes beyond the mere dirt paths as people … Read more
Suburbia in the City: Commercial v. Residential
Suburban elements imposed upon an urban framework usually have negative effects in the commercial realm. In Minneapolis, this is exemplified by the Kmart on Lake Street. A local blog even labeled the department store “Planning Blunder #7” of the Twin Cities. Check it out on Google Maps. While the commercial elements are bad, the residential … Read more
A Rail “with” Trail? The Midtown Greenway Streetcar (Work in Progress)
The Midtown Greenway streetcar project might be a great idea – in about 20 years. I’ll further this thesis later, but in the meantime, I’m doing a few expeditions this week along urban bike corridors in Minneapolis / St. Paul to gather some photos, video and a tad of research. I brought my camera along … Read more
When the sprawl stopped …
Last Sunday, the Star Tribune ran an article on its front page titled, “When the sprawl stopped“. The piece covered the typical struggles of exurban communities and when I finished reading my reaction was a hasty and unforgiving “no duh”. Yet, once the severity of the matter sank in, it was hard to blame mere … Read more
Politics and Zoning: Treating the symptoms and not the disease
Redeveloping St. Paul’s Suburban Avenue The development is simple: built a new strip mall area with a handful of shops including a Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Cowboy Slim’s and a Max-It Pawn. Fair enough – it fits in with the parcel of land that shares a property line with a McDonald’s, Blockbuster, Taco Bell and Papa … Read more
Small towns and ugly schools
Here’s the frontage of a newly built high school in a small town (pop. 3,800) in the south-central Minnesota River Valley. It’s a suburban-style high school placed on a cornfield outside town. This particular building was probably built to “accommodate growth”. New construction, sub-divisions and empty lots leap-frog around the sprawling school grounds. I’d write … Read more
Take it easy with the signs
I’m going to concentrate some efforts next weekend on tackling the issue of signage; or how we’ve been getting it all wrong. I’m doing some photo collecting this weekend. The premise is simple: Roads and parking lots are flooded with signs and information geared toward drivers that are ugly, redundant, confusing and make us less … Read more
Urban Expedition: St. Louis Park’s “West End” (Part 1)
I’ve visited the Shops at West End a handful of times since its opening in the Fall of 09′ and have always felt that something was incomplete. This is probably the direct result of bad timing: the economy tanked, retail was stagnant and investors were more risk-conscience and generally skeptical of new, large-scale development projects. … Read more
