Tag Archives: public realm

Photo of two people standing in the shade of a light pole

3 Ideas to Create Better Summer Cities

Summer’s recent resurgence has bummed me out since I’m not exactly a fan of hot weather, but the bright side is that it means this post (which I procrastinated on writing for about two months) can be published and still be somewhat timely even as the first signs of autumn appear. As global warming continues […]

Solaris North Loop Corner View

New North Loop Six-Story Rises Up

Framing of the second story has begun on the new North Loop mixed-use development by Solaris Redevelopment Corp. and Weiss Builders. The project broke ground on a set of large surface parking lots in July 2018. When complete, the property will house 156 residential units and approximately 22,670 square feet of commercial space. For parking, the developer […]

Minneapolis Skyline View from 24th Street Pedestrian Bridge (by Tony Webster

A Modern City for People Would Devote Less Space to Cars

I have been struck lately by how much space privately-owned automobiles take up. It’s the Starbucks on Marshall that got me thinking about it, and just the sheer percentage of that lot that is devoted to moving and storing cars. All space devoted to use for cars is people-unfriendly. Car space increases distances between destinations. […]

Shared Streets for All Ages

Tank’s a fan of biking. He was a bike commuter (in addition to walking, running, and transit) starting in the 1940s, riding even when coworkers mocked him and family teased him. My earliest foggy memories are of being on the back of my mother’s bike while she cycled to meet up with him as he […]

Simple Urbanism – Inspiration and Aspiration

As a follow-up to the critique of a recent post about the urban design of Harriet’s Inn, let’s consider the parts of the city that inspire us and the standards to which we should be aspiring. To do so, we need only look past Harriet’s Inn, as well as the gold standard for old urbanism […]