The Urban Land Institute’s Daniel Rose Center recently released a report entitled “Implementing Vision for Transit-Oriented Development, based on a ULI panel conducted in February 2010. The panel and report focused on development in two light rail station areas in Minneapolis, including the 38th Street station. Seeing as I live a short four-minute walk from that station, I paid particular attention. Among the recommendations from the ULI panel for the 38th Street station area are some of the usual suspects, including public improvements to the station such as a plaza or identifying element, pedestrian connections and better streetscaping in the…

The current effort in Cinncinnati to cancel its streetcar project is both unnerving and a travesty, given recent development along its route. According to a great post on Streetsblog, the project receives a top score by the state of Ohio’s Transportation Review Advisory Council. It is predictable but no less a travesty that elected officials would threaten to pull funding for a transportation project that scores well, but according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, that is exactly what is happening. More damning is the provision by Tom Patton, the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee Chair, to single out this specific rail project…

The online magazine of the Urban Land Institute this week published an article about the Cotton Belt in Dallas/Fort Worth entitled A Value-Capture Strategy for Transportation in Texas. (You have to be ULI member to read it, but I’ll tell you the premise.) The value-capture strategy in question is an effort to find alternative and creative sources of financing for the construction of the 62-mile Cotton Belt rail line, which slices across north Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) selected Scott Polikov of the Gateway Planning Group to create the Partnership for Livable Communities and…

Are cities the real America? For the answer, just check out Jon Stewart’s interview with Ed Glaeser last month on The Daily Show. Better yet, read Glaeser’s new book, “Truimph of the City.” In it, he presents a very clear-eyed view of the economic value of cities, and strongly argues that urban living is also greener. “We must discard the view that environmentalism means living around trees,” he writes. “We must free ourselves from our tendency to see cities as buildings, and remember that the real city is made of flesh, not concrete.” I like that very much. Glaeser is…

The tension is palpable in Seattle as an effort to get the Alaskan Viaduct replacement up for public vote (again). The tunnel replacement currently being proposed is a bad idea for Seattle, as it is excessively costly and not good urbanism. Not to mention it isn’t needed – the city has reduced its driving in the past decade while increasing population. But don’t let me tell you. Just read this article in The Stranger here. For those worried about the gridlock that will occur if there is no tunnel built, consider this article in the Seattle Times. Think about it.…

I’m a big fan of Bill Bryson’s travel writing, and perhaps his most evocative story is found in “Neither Here Nor There,” his late 1980s account of traveling through Europe. He stopped one afternoon in Capri, Italy, and after wander through the maze of narrow laneways and a nice dinner, he strolled to the handsome public square, amazed to find it full of locals (the Japanese and German tourists were tucked in for the night) out buying wine, cheese, bread and generally gathering in informal groups around the square. He watched in awe as adults mingled and drifted from group…

I was on my way to Starbucks when I found out my local coffee shop, Tillie’s Bean, was closing. Tillie’s was a block away from my house and the closest thing to a “third place” I had. I will miss it. My Walkscore just took a hit. Let me defend my Starbucks decision. I’m not ashamed to admit I visit, but it is more of a convenience than choice of “third place.” Starbucks is right next to Chipotle in St. Paul’s Highland neighborhood, and I have a weakness for Chipotle (I think they put crack or some other addictive agent…

I was quoted recently in the Twin Cities Daily Planet in an article about the “new normal” for neighborhood funding and vitality in Minneapolis and St. Paul. With municipal budget shortfalls, my neighborhood and others are facing cutbacks in funding and are struggling to find new sources of revenue to fit our mission. My takeaway message is that, regardless of what happens to our neighborhood association and its revenue stream, my neighborhood – Standish-Ericsson – is well positioned in the world. We have relatively inexpensive homes with tremendous opportunity to remodel, add on, or even tear down and build new,…