Almost fifty years ago, the City of Minneapolis actually did something for its residents who use transit. It created an exclusive guideway for buses down the center of the main shopping street Downtown, reducing buses’ exposure to congestion and (probably) speeding up trips (a little, sort of). Since there private cars are not allowed on […]
50th and France is a small shopping district on the border of Minneapolis and Edina. It is characterized by two-story buildings with ground-floor retail. The retail is a mix of local-serving shops, restaurants, and movie theaters and more regional destinations like Sur-La-Table. It was a Streetcar stop back in the day, and has long been […]
When I first heard about the new development called the Shops at West End (WE), the Pet Shop Boys played in my head. My vision of The West End came from London, roughly the area between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross. They are not similarly located, London’s version is substantially closer to the City (2.2 […]
Just-in-time production revolutionized manufacturing, enabling both a reduction in inventories as supplies arrive only shortly before needed, and an improvement in quality as poorly made inputs are no longer stored for long periods of time, but can be quickly identified and feedback provided to the supplier. The widespread adoption of the just-in-time process is itself […]
The farmer’s market: Among the oldest forms of direct-to-consumer sales, these truly urban agoras bring the rural to the city, and exist all around the world in some form or another. They bridge the gap between city and country with commerce, and thus, it was inevitable we at streets.mn would ask readers where their favorite […]
When we at Streets.MN were dividing up who would write which “Best of” entry, no one else wanted shopping malls. One said “I’m cool with anything but the best indoor mall, since that doesn’t exist.” What do most urbanists want? A lively, pedestrian realm, clean, free of automobiles, with a variety of activities, the ability […]
Welcome to the first annual Street.mn Best of The City Awards. Over the last week, we have over 100 people take our quick vote / survey about the best and worst of planning and urban design in Minnesota, and the results are in! Over the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing with you a delightful […]
As November draws to a close, winter has descended on the Twin Cities with force. This means it’s time to hunker down, withdraw from the public realm and resign ourselves to scurrying between our home, car, parking garage and office – punctuated only by strolls through climate controlled malls and skyways. It doesn’t have to […]
Infrastructure projects such as road construction and bridge re-building are more than just public works endeavors. They are events that affect the whole community. Like any disruptive event, construction can pull a community apart or bring it together. If approached holistically with intentional collaboration and wisely applied funding, we can have better roads, and stronger […]
(Reposted from The Growler) Sure, Minneapolis has been declared one of Bicycling magazine’s top cities for bicycling—but I’d like to add to that honor by declaring the Twin Cities, as a whole, the best cities for bicycling to beer. Now I realize that my award may not carry the prestige Bicycling magazine’s does, but let me make […]