With so much attention paid to buildings and streets and how they relate to each other, we must remember the boulevard is a very important piece of public infrastructure, requiring careful consideration and planning. I’ve observed some very good examples of boulevards that are appropriate for their urban context, and others that need some work. Let’s explore. The first example (shown below) is a boulevard along Cleveland Avenue near Ford Parkway in Saint Paul. Here, the sidewalk width is plentiful for people to pass, including strollers and wheelchairs, while still leaving space for outdoor seating. The parking lane provides shelter…

The winner of the 2013 Urban Land Institute/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition for the downtown east area of Minneapolis has been chosen. But with existing plans in place and potential developments emerging for apartments and offices, what of the winning team’s plan will, or even should, be built? Hopefully a lot of it. A team from the University of Kansas/University of Missouri/Kansas State created a plan for downtown east in Minneapolis that focuses on the Armory as an indoor market and civic space, flanked to the north by two blocks of green space – the first downtown park. Retail, entertainment and…

If we get the streets right, good things will follow in downtown east. Much hand-wringing is occurring over whether or not there will be good development around the new Minnesota Vikings football stadium in downtown Minneapolis. When we look backwards 30 years at why development hasn’t happened since the current Metrodome stadium was built, we find three main reasons. One reason is some property that remained zoned industrial until very recently. A second obvious reason is five entire blocks of land owned by the Star Tribune blocks didn’t get developed in part because the newspaper was using them and didn’t want to…

“Before you cross the street, take my hand.’ John Lennon, Beautiful Boy. As much as I like the music of the Beatles, unfortunately the advice given by this John Lennon solo lyric is only somewhat helpful, my son. Now that you are riding your own bike with me, Ellis, you need to know that you won’t likely win your first encounter with a car, and it could well be your last. So taking my hand may not be enough. You need to look every which way before you even step off the curb. This is good life advice, no matter…