Today’s article in the Star Tribune, “Minneapolis Sees High-Density Future“, misses the point about city building. There is a lot of talk about density and of increasing the city’s population to the arbitrary number of 400,000 people. Density alone is not a cure all. True it is absolutely necessary to support vitality, walkability and transit usage, but density comes in many forms, and if we get to 400,000 without making the city more beautiful and livable, what is the point? The discussion of development in Minneapolis (or any city) should begin with what the street and building frontages look like,…

If you listen to the press, bikes are all the rage and new rail transit lines are still the darlings of politicians and transportation planners. Incredibly, what is still overlooked in the mainstream press is the intricate relationship between transportation and land use. Even when it is mentioned, it is often a one-size-fits all scenario. We need clarity and nuance on this issue, and that isn’t easy. Take for example two disparate stories this week in the media. One was a New York Times blog discussing cycling improvements in Amsterdam. The other was entitled “Save the Earth, Drive Your Car”…

I celebrated Election Day by taking a drive in my gas-guzzling Jeep Liberty. Freshly topped off with a full tank of gas, I took a drive like any other self-respecting American. Why would I, a self-described urbanist, brag about, much less admit this? I’ll get to that momentarily. Something that grabbed my attention during this week’s election, besides the results, a comment President Obama made during his acceptance speech: “The role of citizens in our Democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us…

Would it be possible to close the bus turnaround at the 38th Street Station? The clear upside is it would free up a big chunk of asphalt for development. Assembling the Metro Transit and Cardinal Bar sites with the single-family homes along 29th Avenue would create a contiguous site of at least 1.75 acres. That is a recipe for a nice mixed-use development that would be very transit-friendly and support perhaps 100 homes and even a grocery store. Take a look at the map below to see what I mean. At far right is Hiawatha Avenue, and to its west…

“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…

“You see the problem is communication, too much communication” – Homer Simpson. A cup of coffee never tasted so delicious. A newspaper never felt so good in my hands or was so interesting. The people passing by on the sidewalk outside the café never looked so good. Navigating those brick sidewalks to discover that cafe, my own two feet never felt so grounded. Finding the café with my own two eyes during a stroll the previous day and remembering it with my own brain never felt so intuitive. It was this past spring. I was in Cambridge, on the Harvard…

Denver Union Station may well be the most impressive rail hub project in the United States today. I must admit to being pretty wowed by the presentation for development of the station and its 20-acre environs at the ULI Fall Meeting in Denver last week. For one, it isn’t just a proposal; it is under construction. It’s happening! The station itself will open in 2014 and the rest of the transit infrastructure will be done in 2016. As well, there will be significant private development immediately surrounding the station. That is precisely what interests me the most – the opportunity…

To say that leadership is important in the real estate industry is a bit of an understatement. The panelists, including Anthony Chang of Cassidy Turley, Diana Reid of PNC, Marty Jones of MassDevelopment, Lynn Thurber of LaSalle Investment Management, and moderator Michael Horst of ULI, brought some wonderful insight and advice to a full room at this Thursday morning session at the ULI Fall Meeting in Denver. Work today is much more interconnected and volatile, both within the real estate industry and without. Therefore, leadership and the ability to see around the corner are all the more critical. The ULI…

Here at the ULI Fall Meeting in Denver, it is two steps forward and one step back for TOD projects in the city and region. In 2004 Denver metro voters approved a sales tax increase called FasTracks to pay for $4.7 billion of investments for several passenger rail lines to be built by the middle of the present decade. Lo and behold the recession hit and sales tax revenues declined. Coupled with material cost increases, the $4.7 billion now will take a little longer to raise and pays for approximately just two-thirds of the original planned lines. All is not…

It is time to stop letting the highway standards dictate pedestrian safety improvements along Hiawatha Avenue. Anyone who has crossed Hiawatha Avenue on foot or by bicycle knows it’s a pretty rough go. Even with an actual walk signal illuminated the experience feels like taking your life in your hands, and I constantly rubberneck to be sure I’m not about to be run down. While the popular operation of light rail along Hiawatha for eight years running is surely a victory, the pedestrian realm has not kept up. The good news is as a result of the Minnehaha-Hiawatha planning initiative,…