A recent post about multi-way boulevards by our friends at Placemakers got me thinking about Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis (I think about it a lot, especially when I’m attempting to cross it on my bike with my kids in tow, one on the tagalong and one in the Burley). As I wait for the light and watch the commuter refugees get off the train and try to cross Hiawatha, I think “there must be a better way.” So what about a multi-way boulevard? The multi-way boulevard is like Superman compared to the standard suburban arterial that we’ll call Lex Luthor.…

The time has come, the time is now. Ellis you are an urban man. For today, my son, you turn six years old. You have grown up in the city and now is the time for you to fly. You see, our local transit system, Metro Transit, allows you to ride the trains and buses for free from age zero to five. Now now that you are six, it is time to start paying for your rides. Yes, for your sixth birthday, you are getting your very own transit card, and with it, the keys to the city! It will…

What good is placing a building close to the sidewalk when this is what a pedestrian has to look at? This is what I’m trying to avoid repeating in my neighborhood right now. The photo above shows an existing recently-built assisted living facility, and there is currently another unrelated assisted living facility proposed elsewhere in my neighborhood. The problem with mixing assisted living with urbanity is that assisted living by nature is a single-entrance, secure operating model. Many residents are monitored for their safety and multiple exits are more difficult to monitor. These facilities are fine in a classic suburban…

My beloved hometown of Minneapolis is vastly cooler now than it was just a week ago, a year ago, definitely more than two years ago. Why? Two things – Food Carts and Open Streets. Urbanites are letting their actions demonstrate their desire to be in the public realm, enjoy the public realm, be urban – and have a good meal to boot! First, food carts. They are popping up all over downtown, and elsewhere. They line Marquette Avenue, and out come the crowds to the sidewalks (the publci realm) where nobody but smokers used to hang out. I guarantee the…