What is the true price of our dependence on automobiles? Those in favor of pedestrian-oriented planning say repeatedly that a large contribution to our automobile economy is the cost of driving is simple too cheap. Although gas prices continually rise, they still lack to reflect the current amount of resources we have, and the impact […]
The temps have finally climbed into the 50s. I’ve thrown open a window or two, letting a little clean, fresh sunshine and breeze into the house. Spring is finally in the air. And that means spring cleaning time. With spring cleaning comes recycling. You might have noticed recycling is front-page news in Saint Paul right […]
This is the second post in the series Understanding the Urban Forest from the Ground Up. Part one can be read here. Unlike other forms of infrastructure, urban forests are also an ecosystem. As a managed system, it grows and evolves over time, but has basic requirements that must be met in order to function […]
There’s no better way to get to know your neighborhood than on a bike. Faster than walking, but still out in the elements, riding lets you soak everything in at a brisk, but leisurely pace. The bicycle combines the best in accessibility with the best in mobility. As fans of the streets, we owe it […]
In late February, according to KSTP, Minneapolis had already received 57 inches of snow. Because of this, for the last month, Minneapolis has enforced a city wide ban on even side parking for all non-emergency snow routes, in addition to the narrow streets of Bryant Avenue between Lake Street to 50th Street, and Grand Avenue […]
This winter, through holes in the polar vortices, a few brave souls trekked cross-country along a new electric highway which winds from California to the Northeast. A route put together by Tesla Motors allowed a team of company employees to cut the coast-to-coast driving time for an electric vehicle to just over three days—more than […]
Minneapolis didn’t go from single-family homes to towering skyscrapers overnight. It took incremental growth over the course of 160 years to get it where it is today. But, what would Minneapolis look like if we decided to preserve itself in 1895? The intersection of 5th and 2nd Avenue would look drastically different. The intersection on 7th […]
I’ve always wondered what life would be like if we did away with highway infrastructure. Television shows such as Life After Humans depict infrastructure eventually succumbing to the forces of nature, overbearing with moss and exotic animals. What if this happened while humans still inhabited this world? While only the fantasy of some urban designers, […]
Few people understand the challenges facing our urban forest and the beneficial roles that it plays in our lives as a living green infrastructure.
Whenever a new development is proposed, be it six-story mixed-use residences in Dinkytown, an overhaul of Downtown East on the Star Tribune lots, or most recently, a proposal for the southwest corner of Franklin and Lyndale, resistance will most likely show its face. There are many reasons people or organizations oppose development, and simply writing […]