2007 has been a good urban year, capped off by my son Ellis learning to say the word “downtown.” He points at the tall buildings in downtown Minneapolis and says “dun-tun!” I can’t think of anything that brings me more pride. Looking back on 2007, I learned a lot in my work and travels. Many of these are highlighted in other posts on this website, but this post will go back and fill in a few holes as to what I’ve been up to this year. I traveled a fair amount and saw some great urban places. Even with trips…

Al Gore has been chided recently for the “incovenient truth” that his home in Tennessee is huge and therefore contributes to global warming. The reasoning goes that he, of all people, should have a smaller, energy-efficient, even carbon-neutral home and ride a bike to his speaking engagements around the world, right!? Honestly, I’ll let him off the hook if he makes thousands of others change their ways or impacts policy decisions on the issue. Still, it got me thinking, so I asked my colleagues if they practice what they preach. After all, if our industry is promoting transit usage, smart…

Now for me. I talk the talk, but do I walk the walk? Since I call myself an urbanist, I feel somewhat compelled to back it up. Ideally, I’d live “sustainably” in a condo or urban townhome with my family, located in or near downtown, within walking distance of a park, a daycare, a school and all my shopping needs, and have rail access to the airport. And there would be three hour train service to Milwaukee to visit the inlaws (some day!). Well, reality dictates that I compromise some of those ideals, but here we go. For starters, I…

Inspired by exploring Nicollet Island in Minneapolis, a tiny historic community near downtown on an island in the middle of the Mississippi, I decided to make a trip down the river to Memphis. I hadn’t spent much time in Memphis, and was interested in exploring downtown and Harbor Town, a new urbanist community located, like Nicollet Island, in the middle of the mighty Mississippi. Unlike Huck Finn, I flew down the Mississippi, landing in Memphis on a warm Friday afternoon as most people were heading home from work. As I approached downtown I was compelled to stop at Tom Lee…

There is something for everyone in “Sustainable Urbanism – Urban Design With Nature,” the new book by Doug Farr that tackles exactly what the title implies. Backed by an impressive range of research, tables, charts, it is a comprehensive look at how to make our development pattern more sustainable. Farr is the founder of Farr Associates, a Chicago-based planning and architecture firm whose work is notable for its dedication to sustainability. The book is rooted in his firm’s decision to renovate their offices pilot project for the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadrship in Energy and Enviornmental Design (LEED)…