To start what is forecast to be a rainy week, here’s the latest on land use and transportation:
This week’s Big Ideas:
- Equity: A recent theme in streets.mn posts is how we try to plan for and build more equity into our cities. This week’s equitable offerings If I Were Mayor… imagines some ways a mayor (perhaps Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges?) might set some big priorities for making the city livable and workable for all and Podcast #62 – Affordable Housing Spatial Inequality with Myron Orfield talks about the “housing industrial complex” and his recent report discussing how housing programs and other policies concentrate poverty.
- Preservation: Following recent posts about preservation and/or demolition in particular projects in Dinkytown and 2320 Colfax, Density is an Historic Resource begins to pick apart the issues involved in preservation and redevelopment by adding the aggregate value of density into the discussion of the value of a single structure. Commenters offer additional thoughts about how preservation and density are framed in public discourse. For a quick look at preservation questions see Friday Photo – Preserving what?
Other stuff:
Signs and Signals: A couple of posts this week criticize traffic signs, signals and regulation: Being Smart with Street Signage (by removing some of it), Counterproductively Safe: U of M’s Washington Ave. Transit Mall (with too many signals not cued to risk and need to regulate), and Increase Walkability — Reduce Right Turns on Red.
Small bites: Has road pricing been tried in the real world? (Germany and Singapore) continues the short economics video series with two videos on the societal benefits of road pricing. In just 2 minutes, learn about truck tolling in Germany (truck tolling) or spend 2 minutes learning about Singapore’s electronic road tolling (and that Singapore is half the size but twice as dense as Houston). Charts of the Day continue to offer bite-sized bits of information from Annual Transportation Performance Report 2012. This week: Mode Share for Bike Walk and Transit, Transit Boardings in Greater Minnesota and Metro Area Transit Boardings, and Trucks.
Kids and their adults can build Elf and Fairy Houses at North Mississippi Regional Park Saturday, May 3 (or perhaps build a fine little urban environment for magical little people).
And finally, Sunday Sketch – The Forgotten Fountains of Saint Paul helps us notice some not obviously wonderful places and makes them newly interesting.
Until next Sunday – have a great week!