My Annual Minnesota State Fair Experience
Tradition is a hallmark of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. For a Greater Minnesota transplant, it’s now more wine samples than Machinery Hill.
Category: Delight-Cultivating
35W Closures: A Few Ideas
Normally, when there’s a big epic road closure (15 miles of 35W!) I read the comments. But I already did for one major closure this summer, and based on rules of comment sections, odds are 100% that the same comments are being made, and they’re going to be talking about bikers sucking within 30 comments. […]
On Civic Mascots, Civic Pride & the City of St. Paul
(With major input from Andy Singer, Bill Lindeke, and Tom Basgen,but especially Andy. Last week, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced that St. Paul’s annual July 4 fireworks are a no-go this year. Naturally, the comments – both on Facebook and on the local news sites – are displeased. Accusations are being flung that […]
Chart of the Day: Driving Distance versus Atomic Bomb Location
Here’s a blast from the past that is technically a chart: I saw this on Twitter the other day, but I don’t remember where. So apologies to whoever posted it. As you might recall, the 1956 Interstate Highway Act was actually titled the “National Interstate and Defense Highways Act.” According to Wikipedia: The addition of […]
What the North Star Can Learn from the Lone Star
This past week I attended a conference in Austin, Texas. I had only ever been to cruddy parts of Texas before, but was excited to see a city I had heard great things about. People told me about the great music scene, amazing food, and beautiful parks. I knew they have bike share and had […]
Valentine to Your City
The idea of writing a love letter to your city isn’t new. I hadn’t thought of it in a while, but then I was in Wausau, Wisconsin, last weekend, where downtown storefront windows were filled with red hearts proclaiming reasons why people love Wausau. At the state’s oldest bookstore, I donated a buck […]
A streets.mn Festivus
Tomorrow is Festivus! In the spirit of the celebration, we thought we’d start a round of Streets Festivus. Play along with us! The Festivus Pole We shall start the observance with a pole. While the traditional Festivus pole is aluminum, we feel that a proper streets Festivus pole for 2017 is a bollard. A bollard, […]
We Are Metro Transit: Snap a selfie before it’s too late!
In front of Minneapolis City Hall, some of my favorite things are currently on display: Minneapolis landmarks, public transportation, and selfies. “We Are Metro Transit” is a public art installation that will be temporarily displayed at Government Plaza Station from mid-October through mid-November. One side of the display features artwork depicting transportation and downtown Minneapolis […]
Top Twin Cities Urbanist Halloween Costumes for 2017!
Halloween! It’s the most urbanist holiday of them all. Sidewalks full of small ghouls and rainbow unicorn ponies and teenagers with pillowcases. Minivans driving around and parking at the ends of cul de sacs hoping for full-size candy bars, but sometimes being greeted by the neighbor who gives all the kids cans of Mountain Dew, […]
Where Will They Park? A Video Series
A little more than a year ago, I was inspired to create what has been called “the definitive three-part [film] series about the people and culture of Saint Paul.” But the deep concerns about car storage that I explored in that series aren’t unique to Saint Paul. During the most recent meeting of the Minneapolis City Planning […]