We constantly hear that driverless cars are just around the corner. We’re told they will revolutionize transportation and enable us to continue using our car-based transport and land-use system. If they’re made by Tesla, they’ll be powered by magic, solar-powered, super efficient batteries and we’ll all be able to keep living our hyper-mobile, hyper-consumptive lifestyles […]
I first visited Hall’s Island first before it was and island, for the 2nd time. To me it was a big parcel of land that Wilco played at a couple years ago. Why was it an island over 50 years ago, why not in 2016, and why again today? A brief history. The first known survey of […]
Here’s a map from a recent presentation out of Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development department, a small point made in a larger conversation about updating the city’s parking requirements and policies. Here are the maps, created by Tony Johnson at PED. The first shows the total amount of space in the city that is […]
I think a wild blind spot at StreetsMN is the idea that there are only two possibilities for residential property development. A) Private ownership by young growing Single Family with golden retriever and infinite sums of cash to refinish the cool old house. B) Private ownership by profit driven private developer. Considering the golden retriever […]
I have a suggestion for anyone doubting the cataclysmic effects Minneapolis 2040 would have on Southwest Minneapolis. Drive down Bryant Avenue from 50th to Lake Street and have a look around. What you see might just open your eyes, change your tune, and flip your port-o-hammock. I was driving down Bryant Avenue the other day […]
Phew! The public comment phase of the exhaustively publicized, discussed, and public-feedback-solicited 2040 Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan is over. I don’t know about you, but I am incredibly aware of the existence of this planning process and of my opportunities and methods for learning what the draft plan contains, and for offering my feedback! However, the planning […]
What is the cost, both human and financial, of devoting so much valuable urban land to cars — be it streets or parking?
Minneapolis needs more homes. That idea is one of the core tenets of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. For a number of reasons (demographic, economic, cultural, etc.), more people are, and soon will be, living in the city. We need enough homes for everyone who is choosing to live here, or we’ll continue to see […]
Via Minneapolis Clerk’s Twitter, here’s a map from a recent presentation by land use analysis group Urban3. they were in town a few weeks ago to share some data and thoughts about trends in Hennepin County. This map shows the taxable value generated for different parts of the city on a per-acre basis, rather than […]
This is the second in a series of posts addressing the arguments against Minneapolis’s Draft Comprehensive Plan; the first is here. It Doesn’t Achieve “Affordability” I’m not an economist, or an affordable housing expert. So I want to start with a link to this post by Atrios, who is (or, at least, has been) an […]