Are we doing enough to create good cities and urbanism? Due to property rights, we cannot always control exactly what is built on private land, but we can certainly have a say in the ever-so-important public realm. An article earlier this month entitled Treasuring Urban Oases, featuring renowned urbanist Alexander Garvin, as well as examples in my own Minneapolis, would suggest that we are not doing enough in this respect. Garvin’s premise is we should reverse our process, thinking first about the design of public space and then private development. Garvin suggests that New York is not unlike other cities…

The proposed streetcar took a huge step forward last week, according to the UrbanCincy website. Rustwire pointed out the challenges and obstacles overcome to get to this point. And I’m glad, because the city deserves it. And most of all, this new transportation improvement will complement some land use improvements to the city, the way land use and transit should relate. The streetcar will connect the downtown and riverfront (The Banks) to the emerging Over-the-Rhine/Gateway Quarter district, renovated Washington Park, Music Hall, the Findlay Market and eventually Uptown and the University of Cincinnati. Connecting employment, entertainment and emerging housing opportunities…

John Norquist, president and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, wrote a recent piece in the Atlantic Cities entitled The Case for Congestion. In it, he sensibly explains that cities must recognize that traffic and congestion are often a sign of dynamism, and by moving traffic too well, cities often drive out economic potential that “good congestion” provides. Most of all, he argues that it’s time to retire the highway in an urban context – I couldn’t agree more. Norquist has long argued that, like good and bad cholesterol, there is such thing as good and bad congestion.…

Major grocers are increasingly finding ways to open stores in urban neighborhoods (see my ULI article from May, 2011), but it isn’t easy. As was presented at Developing Walkable Urban Groceries in Mixed-Use Environments at the ULI Fall Meeting, getting the design of the grocery store right, while accommodating residential units on the site at the same time is particularly daunting. This session was moderated by Neal Payton, principal at Torti-Gallas Partners, which has significant experience designing mixed-use urban grocery projects. It featured John Given, principal of the CIM Group, a developer of mixed-use urban grocery projects, and Donald Wright,…

There is an opportunity to create a more humane, livable Hiawatha Avenue, and, to try out a metaphor, now may be the time to step out in to the intersection and begin our journey across. Hiawatha Avenue should become an urban boulevard that unites neighborhoods rather than divides them, particularly near light rail stations where pedestrian counts have steadily increased since light rail service began and development continues to occur. What’s nice is I’m not the only one who believes this. As part of the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works program, Hennepin County has identified several potential improvements to the area around…

Much has been speculated about the death of the mall and what to do about it, and solutions vary. One very innovative re-use of an aging, enclosed mall can be found in Austin, Texas, where a local community college is taking over the space, and a developer partner is proposing to develop a mix of housing, office and retail on surrounding surface parking lots. The project is part of a greater planning effort to redevelop a stretch of Airport Boulevard, a mid-20th Century urban highway. In many ways the former Highland Mall is the signature project for the corridor. A…

The Rethinking the Office Market panel at the ULI Fall Meeting dovetailed nicely with an article I wrote for Urban Land in August about the office market. The takeaway quote of this panel is “we don’t need any more office space.” Those were the words uttered by Chris Macke, principal at General Equity Real Estate and presenter at Re-Thinking the Office Market. While that may be dire, admitting this may be the first step in the road to recovery. Phil Mahoney, Executive Vice President at Knight Frank indicated cost is secondary to value right now. “It’s more about my competitors…

Everywhere you look, local food is a hot topic. Community gardens provide healthy food and a place for neighbors to meet. Popular restaurants, like the Wise Acre in Minneapolis, feature food sourced from a farm just 50 miles away. Farmers markets are everywhere, and food carts are a mobile option for budding restaurateurs to demonstrate their talent. The popularity of food and its source is driving real estate development in not-so-subtle ways. Here at the ULI Fall Meeting, a session entitled The Food Revolution and its Impacts on Real Estate discussed this topic. Chris Meany, a partner at Wilson Meany…

I have searched the world to find the perfect neighborhood, and perhaps I need look no further than the Highland neighborhood in St. Paul, less than three miles from my home. Is it really perfect? Of course not, but I once lived there and now spend a lot of time shopping and eating there. So I can speak from experience that I believe it offers the right blend of housing, retail, jobs, civic space and transportation options, all in a relatively pleasant walkable setting. And on a recent visit, I took my camera to try and document what it looks…

The Northeaster newspaper has reported that the Sheridan Neighborhood Association in northeast Minneapolis has indicated their preferred development team for redevelopment of a parcel and final historic building on the historic Grain Belt Brewery complex in northeast Minneapolis. That is good news, as I was part of the Diversified Equities team proposing 125 market rate apartment units, a public plaza and event center. The apartments will be located in a new building, while the event center and possible retail use will be in the historic Grain Belt office building. I provided the market study for the proposal, which found strong…