What if every Subway Restaurant in the Twin Cities were a subway station? Via Reddit, /u/1map_dude1 has mapped out exactly what the transit network would look like. The original Google Maps data file is here. (Via Reddit.)
The Construction Programs of the 1920s Previously, Part 1 of this series discussed some early roads in Minnesota’s pioneer era and the privately maintained auto trails in the early motoring era. Part 2 discussed the generation-long ramp-up of state involvement in highway construction, culminating with the inauguration of a system both owned and maintained by […]
Here’s a really important map just in case my nightmares come true. Take it with lots of grains of salt thrown over your shoulder onto the ground in a pentagram, but according to Career Builder*, here is a map showing which cities are ready and not ready for a zombie apocalypse. (Please remember that […]
I’ve been learning about what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires when it comes to our sidewalks. Here, I want to share my single favorite discovery. Hennepin County has an interactive online map with photo images and descriptions of every intersection, curb cut, signal actuation/beg button, and sidewalk obstruction on county streets. That map is […]
Once every ten years, the Comprehensive Plans reveal themselves like planets aligning, casting inscrutable shadows upon the zoning codes of our cities and towns. Then, in elaborate community rituals, various civic soothsayers and certified planners use these inklings to predict the future. That time is now, as both Minneapolis and Saint Paul (and other cities […]
Here’s a map that comes from the real estate marketing packet for Saint Paul’s famous Ford Site, the 100+ acre former truck factory in Highland. It shows the “retail” near the site, using logos and arrows. For one thing, this map shows how many Paneras and Targets are nearby. But on top of that, the […]
Here’s a maddening and entirely believable map from a think tank called the Urban Institute out of DC. It shows the size and scale of the gap in homeownership rates between African-Americans and whites in the US. As described by the report’s authors, “the dots’ color represents the magnitude of the disparity, and the dots’ […]
Previously this series covered federal and private involvement in Minnesota’s highways from the pioneer days into the 1920s. Now it’s time to cover the involvement of the state. As early as 1890 there was state involvement in highways, with the state contributing funds towards the Old Cedar and Bloomington Ferry Bridges. A 1898 constitutional amendment allowed […]
Here are a few maps from the Brookings Institute’s Metro Monitor report, which offer Us maps by metropolitan area showing different economic indicators. At least according to these indices, the MSP metro economy seems not to be growing as quickly as other cities in the country. Here’s one showing growth, defined as a combination of […]
Via Planetizen and Governing, here’s a map released by the Federal Government Accountability Office that shows the “economic impacts of climate change.” Minnesota (or northern Wisconsin) appears on the map, listed as a place with “decreased cold-related mortality”: Personally, I’m a dubious that cold-related mortality is a huge economic problem for northern Minnesota, […]