Category: Policy

Queensboro Bridge connecting Manhattan and Queens in New York.

National Links: 300 Languages, One Street

Along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, more than 300 languages are spoken. As the 7 train runs over the “artery of life”, commerce explodes underneath with vibrancy and community. The street is a microcosm of the world and what goes on there sometimes impacts what happens on the other side of the globe.

Contemporary view of St. Anthny Falls

Deconstructing the Past and Future of St. Anthony Falls Lock

In these perilous times, dreaming of the future comes less easily. That is precisely what I found myself doing, however, after hearing the news earlier this year that the planning process for the future development of the three-acre St. Anthony Falls Lock property would start fresh from the beginning — this time, with Indigenous peoples […]

Metropolitan Opera House and Palace Court, 1914

No Use for a Name: The Untold Story of Alley Identity and Utility in Minneapolis’ Palace Court

(The photograph above, showing the Metropolitan Opera House and Palace Court, was taken by C.J. Hubbard in 1914, Minnesota Historical Society) Historical and contemporary Minneapolis is not particularly known for its public alleys. They have served a more discreet role in the lives of Minneapolitans, unsung for getting private vehicles off city streets. Of course, […]

Ariel shot of an expansive parking lot containing several hundred cars.

National Links: The True Cost of Cars

New research in Germany shows how expensive cars really are – the lifetime cost of a small car is $689,000 with a public expense of $275,000, say the researchers.