How St. Paul Can Re-Legalize Small Commercial Development
St. Paul may be ready to relax its prohibitions on neighborhood commercial buildings. Here’s how it could get over the finish line.
Category: Land Use
How St. Paul’s Commercial Zoning Rules Hamper the City
Beyond negative impacts on walkability, restrictive commercial zoning inhibits incremental development and raises barriers for small, independent developers in St. Paul.
Allow Corner Stores and Coffee Shops in St. Paul’s Residential Zones
It’s illegal to build corner stores and other small commercial spaces in most of St. Paul, thanks to decades-old zoning codes. That should change.
Minneapolis Has More Households Than Ever Before
Minneapolis’ population is increasing, but its housing needs are increasing even faster. Why? More individual households need more individual spaces.
The Twin Cities’ Immense Variation in Housing Affordability
Minneapolis and St. Paul seem generally affordable, but just looking at averages can obscure large differences due to historical patterns and land use policies.
Let’s (St)roll There: Mobility Matters in Burnsville
A transit event in the suburbs proved to be a snowy case study about why reliable transit service is essential to our metro area.
Street Views: Local Comp Plans (Unofficially) Kick Off
How might the Met Council’s newly adopted Imagine 2050 plan be implemented in local comp plans? Let’s read the tea leaves of recent trends.
Street Views: Mapping Highways’ Footprint
Our twice-monthly columnist maps the impact and “rethinking” imposed on urban communities during the original freeway boom.
What Can Charleston, South Carolina, Teach Minneapolis?
With an engaging streetscape, varied building stock and sensible zoning, charming Charleston, South Carolina, holds important urban design lessons for Minneapolis.
Discussions on the ‘Decline of the Midway’
A recent opinion piece about the development challenges in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood misses a few key points, says one neighborhood resident.