Yesterday's first-ever Cyclovia in Minneapolis was a rousing success. Actually called Open Streets and organized by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, Minneapolitans were able to ride their bikes on Lyndale Avenue, which was closed to cars from 42nd Street to 22nd Street. Much of that roadway runs through some fairly prominent retail and mixed-use areas, which provided a wonderful urban setting for people of all ages to get out and ride and enjoy the whole street, free of cars, for a late spring Sunday. My colleague John Breitinger from NorthMarq posted photos at Flickr here. As some of the photos show, everyone was out there. I saw were bicycles, unicycles, old-fashioned bicycles, rickshaws, recumbents (a train of them that people could get on and off of!), tall bikes, bike bands, and even the mayor on his bicycle (no surprise there). There were games, contests, dancing, food stands and even a big group doing yoga right in the middle of the road. It was wonderful to own the street for a day. Perhaps there was no better gauge than to see the look in kids' eyes as they rode down the street, knowing they had it to themselves, safe from cars and free from their parents watching over them (well, maybe their parents were still watching). Open Streets, the Cyclovia of Minneapolis, gave us all one more reason to love and see beauty in our fair city, and perhaps that is the most important thing of all.

CNU 19 featured a presentation by Mike Lydon called "Sprawl Retrofit at the Micro Scale: Repairing in All Dimensions." Mike Lydon is founding principal of The Street Plans Collaborative, and he discussed "tactical urbanism," an effort to introduce urbanity in the short-term to encourage long-term changes. For example, a neighborhood group temporarily plants trees (in pots) at a treeless commercial corner, paints bike lanes and places temporary bike racks on the street, sets out temporary sidewalk tables and chairs, or even temporary stores (a food cart, perhaps). Most "temporary" improvements can be made at little cost and in short order. They trigger a response among area residents and businesses and embrace the public realm. Andrew Howard of The Better Block also spoke at CNU 19. He noted that his efforts to conduct tactical urbanism and make "better blocks" helped make women and children feel safe on the street, and only then is it successful. Most intriguing was his comment that it changed the language of his street from "hot" or "fast" to "beautiful." I can think of applications right here in my neighborhood. Why not borrow some trees for the weekend from a local nursery (good advertising for them) and "plant" them near our newest restaurants, the Angry Catfish and Busters? We don't even need to provide outdoor seating; it is already there! Or take over the shoulder lane along Hiawatha Avenue near the light rail station by allowing parking for a day, planting trees and setting up a hot dog stand? Some tactical urbanism could make a big difference in my neighborhood and yours.

What isn't happening in Madison this morning? Have a look at these photos and see for yourself. Stefanos Polyzoides, a founding member of CNU, eloquently pointed out yesterday that we must "access reality through observation." Well, I observed Madison, and it is real. Everything is going on this morning. People are out and about at the capitol square for the farmers market, on State Street for the classic car show, and generally everywhere, walking, biking and enjoying the city. There is also live music (formal and the busking kind), livestock (cows mooing for the crowd), practitioners of free speech (mostly protesting the current governor), and a general mileu of characters plain and unique. The farmers market would be quite an event, but the magnificent backdrop of the state capitol sets it apart. The same is true of the classic cars on State Street, which is generally very busy with people on a normal day. The urban design decisions over the years, the creation of public space and the framing of it with private and civic buildings, and the ability to tame the automobile, are the reason so many people enjoy special events and daily life in Madison. There is a "there" there that doesn't exist everywhere. I think those of us at CNU 19 are dutifully impressed. Thank you, Madison, you are putting on a fine show.

“Cities require management and need to leverage their fixed-cost investment.” - Ed Glaeser “We need discipline in our planning.” - Mike Krusee “We need modes of transportation that feed eachother, not compete.” - John Robert Smith What do all of these comments have in common? They were uttered during CNU 19 by speakers who consider themseves conservative or Republican. This is important because new urbanists are too often seen as blue, liberal, elites from the coasts. If CNU is to get over the next hump, it must get its message across to conservatives. New urbanism - it just performs better. This is part of CNU's new messaging, and they must continue to get out the message. In these times of austerity, it must become better known that new urbanism saves tax dollars, brings discipline to planning, and makes cities operate more efficiently. Perhaps this message can help crack the partisan rancor in this country and speed the spread of better urbanism everywhere. We cannot expect everyone to love the design aspects of urbanism the way we do, but we shoudl expect elected officials to consider new urbanism policy that saves tax dollars an improves equality.

It has been 14 years since I graduated from UW Madison (I was half my age when I started school here in 1993), but as I biked up State Street I couldn't help but sing Bob Dylan's My Back Pages to myself - "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." "What time is this place?" is the question that UW professor William Cronon asked at the CNU 19 opening plenary last night at the Overture Center on State Street. Much has changed, and much has stayed the same. The Overture Center had previous incarnations as various theaters. The nearby capitol square is now known for the recent protests of (and some support for) Governor Walker's union policies, but on Saturday it will host the Madison Farmers Market as it has for decades. I rode a bicycle down State Street, but it wasn't my old mountain bike from college - I was riding a bike rented from a kiosk as part of Madison's new bike sharing program. The faces have changed on the Memorial Union Terrace, but the timelessness of enjoying a summer's evening has not. It is possible, 14 years after spending my formative years here, to experience the joys of discovering a wonderful city. The Monona Terrace is wonderful. How many convention centers have windows first of all? And how many have sweeping views of a breezy blue lake out those huge windows? Furthermore, the rooftop at Monona is a public gathering space for Madisonians, hosting tai chi, concerts and other events that most convention centers don't offer. I'm seeing the city through new eyes again. Listining to William Cronon ask "what time is this place?" was about the transect from urban to rural and the relationships between the two, and of everything in between over time. Mesmerizing (I can't believe I never attended a lecture of his while I was in school!). Cities, suburbs and even rural and wild areas are always evolving. But it is the capitol square in Madison and public spaces like it (the Memorial Union Terrace or rooftop of the Monona Terrace) are where people of all walks of life can meet, be it on opposite sides of a vegetable purchase at the farmers market, opposite sides of a protest about unions or opposite sides of a pitcher of beer, and come together to engage in the fundamentals of a functioning democracy. "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." Cities change but seem to remain the same all the time,and they are perhaps now more important than ever.