July is almost over and tomorrow we’ll start the end of summer, family vacation after youth soccer is over, run up to the State Fair, back-to-school sort of month of August. Here on streets.mn this week, we’ve got a good mix of politics, reports on particular places and some looks further afield. As always, we […]
We are living in a fascinating time for urban design. Over the past 20 years, at various levels of acceptance, the United States has realized the error in its ways of the past 50-60 years. A half-century of anti-dense and anti-diverse urban planning has rendered our culture vulnerable to collapse. It is as though America […]
One of the most paradoxical aspects of the downtown Rochester ecosystem, is the relationship between Destination Medical Center (DMC) and Mayo Clinic. It is quite the dichotomy. On the one hand, Mayo Clinic is DMC. They were the ones responsible for its inception; the ones who felt compelled to act and create DMC. The ones who ultimately […]
We are in the middle of May, National Bike Month, and this week is Minneapolis Bike Week with lots of events to encourage, entice and reward biking to work, school, and everywhere else. Bike-related news from elsewhere flying across my newsfeed: a program designing bikes for larger people to help get more people riding and building […]
Fictional French film maker Jean-Francois Malibu supplied us with this short film based on his own reflections having been born and raised in Rochester. Many thanks to him, or as they say in French, “merci beaucoup.”
In my last few articles, I’ve looked at the city block layouts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul (both downtown and citywide) and compared them to a few suburbs. I thought it would be useful to also make some comparisons with cities outside of the metro area, to see what they’re like. Above, I have a […]
Rochester is lousy with plans. We have vision documents and planning studies all around us. Yet we are mired in the weeds trying to figure out how we can possibly implement much of what is depicted in these prognosticating documents. 9 | ACCEPT THAT ROCHESTER IS NOT SOMEPLACE ELSE Rochester suffers, in some respects, […]
We’ve just passed Earth Day on Friday, April 22. The idea for a national day for the environment was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson who hoped the attention and awareness of the environment would elevate environmental protection on the national political agenda. Senator Nelson. And Prince died. Beyond the Metro What it Means to be […]
“Cities resemble lovers, offering allure, annoyance, and late-night availability.” -Emilie Buchwald I am a self-described urbanist. I grew up in a city, I have lived near city centers, and I have relished in the urban renaissance being experienced across the United States. Here in Rochester, Minnesota I have been a passionate advocate for grassroots long-range […]
A local engineering firm is out with a new video debunking 10 common roundabout “myths,” which surely wouldn’t stump our wonderful streets.mn readership. Rochester City Councilor Michael Wojcik posted a link to this video on his blog: While I suspect the publishers would never admit it, poor decision making by the Rochester City Council likely […]