I hate moving. It takes physical, mental, and emotional energy. It’s expensive to pay for security deposits, non-refundable pet deposits, first month’s rent and last month’s rent, and professional movers. From 2004 to 2012, I probably lived at 12 different addresses in Minnesota, California, and Scotland. I’m not sure if that qualified me as a […]
The road was dedicated to Northside resident and socialist Governor Floyd B. Olson in 1951, but it was older than that. As near as I can tell, construction of the modern-day Olson Memorial Highway began in the late 1930s. That makes it one of the first urban freeways in the Twin Cities. (For some reference, it’s earlier than the very early Hiawatha […]
I’ve seen the amazing Minneapolis slum map a few times on the internet, including a nicely colored version with much more legible text. Anyway, from the Met Council’s compelling Choice, Place, and Opportunity report, detailing racial inequality in the Twin Cities, here’s the Saint Paul version of that map. Source: Calvin F. Schmid, “Social Saga […]
Here’s a chart from this great “statistics and demographics” article in today’s Star Tribune. Check it out: CJ Sinner at the Star Tribune reports on how and why these data were created: Recently, a sharp drop in median income among Black Minnesotans prompted the Minnesota State Demographic Center to take a deeper economic look at ethnic […]
There is a modest, white house at the corner of 46th Street East and Columbus Avenue South in Minneapolis’s Field neighborhood. The architecture of the 1923 home eludes classification — its low-pitched rooflines hint at the craftsman style, but the white exterior, columns, and pediment seem neoclassical. The house lacks the charming stone work and […]
Here’s a good map from a recently launched web project called The Ways, which explores the history of Native American nations, treaties, cultures and stories, put together by some folks in Wisconsin. Check out this historic map of treaty rights: Here’s the description of treaty negotiations from the site: Beginning in the early nineteenth century, […]
Here’s a chart from a survey and report recently released by Cycles for Change, a Twin Cities’ bicycle empowerment group, showing how people of color perceive bicycling in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Here’s one of the survey questions: The report’s author (and former podcast guest), Melody Hoffman, describes her methods on her blog: During the community conversations, […]
Via Historyapolis, here’s one of the most important Minneapolis maps you’ll ever see, a section of the original Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) map of Minneapolis from the 1930s. This is from the great Historyapolis post, which talks about attempts to change the racially-segregated housing structure: The system demanded that realtors serve as the border […]
Watching a new David Simon show is like opening presents on Christmas Day. I loved The Wire (of course), and Treme hit all my favorite sweet spots: jazz, New Orleans, street life, and affordable housing debates. So needless to say, I’ve been watching Show Me A Hero with a big grin on my face, savoring […]
On July 17, The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Saint Paul mayor Chris Coleman apologized for bulldozing the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul to build Interstate 94. Beginning in 1958, the freeway destroyed nearly a thousand homes and businesses and it displaced thousands of people at the core of a predominantly African American neighborhood. It […]