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,…

I was happy to see ULI’s online magazine take up the issue of Little Infill in a recent article post. You must be a member to read, but regardless, the article picked up on a theme I started last year in an Urban Land article called Little Infill. In the Little Infill article, I made the case that smaller projects, fewer than 100 housing units and 10,000 commercial square feet (be they mixed-use or not) are often overlooked by investors, and are difficult to design, finance and get approvals for. And yet, they represent a trememdous infill opportunity wholly supported…

A couple years ago I had the honor of playing guitar (In My Life by the Beatles, no less!) at my friend’s wedding in Seattle. Several other friends from college converged on Seattle, and we decided to rent an apartment through VRBO, a vacation rentals website. We wound up with a lovely two-bedroom place with a stunning view of Elliot Bay and just down the Post Alley from Pike Place Market. Other than the wonderful access to the historic Pioneer Square district, Pike Place Market and the waterfront, we could have just stayed in and enjoyed the view. Indeed we…

One of my favorite things about flying is looking down on the urban landscape below. I enjoy picking out landmarks like my inlaws home outside of Milwaukee when en-route from Chicago to Minneapolis, and vividly remember, flying in to New York City for the first time in 1998, having the twin towers jump out at me on the night skyline like one of those three-dimensional puzzles do when you stare at them long enough. For this reason, I enjoy the opening credits of the movie “Up in the Air” very much. Watch it here. Sure, I like to imagine myself…

The board of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has approved a resolution that could have a dramatic impact on urban mixed-use, Main Streets and good development overall. In a partnership with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and the National Town Builders Association (NTBA), the resolution by NAHB supports reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration’s guidelines for mixed-use development. Currently, Fannie, Freddie and the FHA will not guarantee a mortgage on a development or building that is more than 25% commercial space. The resolution would raise that limit to 45%. This is…

It seems a fundamental part of the design of urban residential buildings is to have individual unit entrances at the ground level. Versus a building with just one common entrance off the sidewalk, individual unit entrances enliven the pedestrian realm, are more pleasant to look at, provide more eyes and activity on the street, create opportunities for more neighbors to meet and interact, and quite simply create a more inviting urban environment and are more neighborly. That is why I’m so happy to report that Klodt Development, at their proposed 64-unit apartment project in Minneapolis, has decided to add seven…

For a laugh (and perhaps a good cry), click on this link to the Strong Towns website and a video called “Conversations With an Engineer.” Its deadpan delivery is funny, but its mindset never swerves out of its lane, if you will. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We try to create an attractive, lively urban environment, and the engineer scuttles it all in the name of “improvement,” “safety” and the dreaded “standard.” Case in point: 42nd Street in Minneapolis The City of Minneapolis, using federal funding, is currently completing a cross-city, on-street bike route that primarily runs through a…

Tell me this, how many people enjoy changing planes at O’Hare? It was announced the other day that Wisconsin is losing their stimulus funding to create rail service from Madison to Milwaukee, something the incoming governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, was opposed to. He cites the cost to the state for maintaining the service, and questions who will ride between the two cities. Taken in that context, Mr. Walker is probably right – there will be a cost borne to the state for continued service, and perhaps there will be fewer riders between Madison and Milwaukee than the existing service…