Much has already been written on the robot car, but streets.mn’s own Bill Lindeke posits that they “will not save us“, citing three problems. While I agree that we probably can’t be saved (from what exactly I can’t say, there are many options), but in my opinion Bill and other urbanists should welcome the robot [...]
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The Magic of Streetcars, The Logic of Buses
The City of Minneapolis is promoting Streetcars in a number of corridors, including one in North along Broadway to compensate for the rerouting of Bottineau LRT to avoid North. Promoters of Minneapolis Streetcars, including Mayor R.T. Rybak, are engaged in magical thinking in their assertion that streetcars will have transformative effects. Famously, Minneapolis and St. [...]
Twin Cities Ten Million!
Planning (and executing plans) is really about liking your future “self”. If you plan well, and do things in advance of their ultimate need, you are being good to your future self. You do things now (burying nuts, saving for retirement, filing paperwork, washing the dishes, forming habits about where you put your keys, etc.) [...]
Place and Non-Place
American cities and towns tend to have a large amount of “non-place.” The concept of Place and Non-Place has been described by Nathan Lewis and is a great way to think about the urban built environment. Lewis characterizes Places as areas where end-purpose activity occurs. Homes, offices, restaurants, parks, backyards are all Places, or locations [...]
Opportunities to show up
Woody Allen (or perhaps it was Harry Truman) famously said decisions are made by those who show up. Streets.MN readers who are also Minneapolis residents may be interested in these opportunities to show up (and make decisions): Bicycle Advisory Committee: advise the Mayor, Council and Park Board on bike-related issues. (13 vacancies) Pedestrian Advisory Committee: advise [...]
Part 1: Small News, Big Impact: Roseville’s Controversial Ordinance 1417
[Note: Have you ever started researching something and quickly realize that you've got in over your head? Ordinance 1417 is exactly that ... If I missed anything here, please fill me in. I'd love to get to the bottom of this issue. This is part 1 of 2.] [Above: Four scenarios for Twin Lakes redevelopment [...]
Framing Regional Development
I was asked to talk to the Metropolitan Council on April 4 about their “Regional Development Framework“. This is what I plan to say. The goal of the region’s planners, and of the city itself, is to Maximize Accessibility. Cities (metros) have one purpose: To reach more things in less time. These things include jobs, [...]
The Campus Iconic
Education can occur anywhere, in an office building, in a warehouse, or on the internet, but students, their parents, and their employers often prefer higher education on a College or University campus. Faculty like campuses because they are conducive to research. There are other reasons for a traditional campus, among them the signaling model as [...]
Is Minneapolis Ready for Form-Based Codes?
Recent development debacles and near-debacles in Minneapolis have made me wonder if form-based codes could help the development process here. I’ve been researching form-based codes around the country lately, and I believe they may well have a role in my hometown. At a minimum, they can provide developers, city staff and elected officials, and neighbors [...]
The case of the thirteen parking lots
The amount of parking along the Central Corridor in Minneapolis and Saint Paul could be measured in square miles. It is huge. Business owners have expressed frustration over the loss of hundreds of parking spaces along University Avenue itself, but those spots are dwarfed by the total amount of parking in the corridor. The Metropolitan [...]
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The Magic of Streetcars, The Logic of Buses
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Urban Highway Removal in Minneapolis?
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The Problem of Hiawatha Avenue
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A Typology of Beg Buttons
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Time for a change on Park and Portland
