English pubs are among the premier “third places” in the world. Despite rumors of their death, they remain vital to the community and I’m impressed by how well they fit in to the urban (and rural) fabric. The English pub is a great place to gather with friends or strangers. They are also quite amenable […]
When talking about expanding passenger train service in Minnesota and other parts of the U.S., it’s common to be told that our area of the country has cities that are too small and spread out for it to ever work. Supposedly, only the Northeast and a few other heavily-populated areas have the population and travel […]
A couple weeks ago, I headed out to Colorado, the Centennial State, with buddy and fellow streets.mn writer Chris Iverson. It’s nice! Second time since the fall. Weather was good. We went out to wander around and also ride a new train line that just opened up, connecting Downtown Denver with Denver International Airport, which is […]
Every day at The Direct Transfer we collect news about cities and send the links to our email list. At the end of the week we take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the DC region. […]
Imagine the city came to a local business street or node and proposed something like a bike lane, wider sidewalks, or any other design change that might cause vehicle traffic passing by to choose another route instead. Maybe the city wants to put in parking meters. The expected drop in traffic would be something like 10-20% […]
Want to start commuting by bike but unsure where to start? The first decision: Make sure you have the right bicycle.
If you’re like most people, you have a set of established routes for your work commute, dog walks and grocery getting. It can take extra time and energy to change up that routine. And who has extras of time and energy laying around? One way to break free from your regular strolls, rolls, runs, and rides is to […]
An urbanist is never truly on vacation — not when comparing land use and public transit with practices back home becomes a reflexive part of the day.
While Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Minnesota appear at the top of lists for biking, health, literacy, and other enviable qualities, we’re fortunate enough to have at least some policymakers well aware of the lessons we could still learn from our counterparts across the world. In particular, there have been many efforts to apply urban planning […]
All across America, cities are rebounding. Locally, cranes and temporary fencing have created new jungles in parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as thousands of new units push our inner city populations to levels not seen in decades. A new generation of so-called “Millennials” is moving back to the places their parents and grandparents forsook, […]
