What can we do about that vacant corner store? Until now the choices were speculate among neighbors or online (I’ve had many conversations with neighbors that go like this: “that would be a great place for an independent coffee shop, but I don’t want a chain”), call your city councilmember (“can’t you find a nice coffeeshop for that space?”) or just hope (“I hope someone opens a coffeeshop”). Even though that corner building is small and inexpensive by commercial real estate standards, it is too expensive to purchase myself, and risky nonetheless, since I don’t know how to be a…

I forget if the ill-advised and ill-fated monorail from the Simpsons was in Springfield or neighboring arch-rival Shelbyville (or both). I just spent a four day working weekend doing a market study in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and they didn’t have a monorail. But maybe a little more coordinated transportation and land use planning would help not just Shelbyville but many cities across this land, at least based on the transportation calamity I constantly witnessed in my four day trip. This gets at my larger point. For working in Shelbyville, I based myself in Smyrna, a southeast suburb of Nashville, and about…

Could the main facade of the Ford Plant be preserved as part of a public park/promenade? Shown in the photograph above is a section of the former Ford Plant in St. Paul that seems to offer a wonderful opportunity for preservation and placemaking. Is it possible to remove the sections of windows and keep the columns so it would look and function something like this portion of Bethesda Terrace, shown below? As you can see below, while the end of this facade faces the Mississippi River, its length is perhaps 300 feet long. Having a 300-foot long promenade with open…

“Can we validate your parking, sir?” was the question posed as I paid my dinner tab this evening here in Nashville. I said “No, thank you. I’m walking.” As the waiter walked away I tried to come up with a cheeky response about validating my walking, but alas I’m not too quick on my feet. After all it was a pleasant, chilly evening, and I had a pleasant walk back to my hotel. Burning off a little dinner and getting some fresh air is enough for me – I don’t ask much. The walk got me thinking, as walks tend…

Tomorrow, Thursday January 17, ULI Minnesota will be hosting a program entitled Value Capture: Funding Infrastructure. Scott Polikov of Fort Worth-based Gateway Planning, will be the presenter. Scott Polikov will be demonstrating the link between public improvements like transit service and streetscaping and private investment through the increased value and development potential of real estate located near these improvements. Synchronizing public and private investments and using a form-based approach results in better urbanism. I’ve written about his work on Airport Boulevard in Austin. I will be part of a responder panel and will be applying Polikov’s work to the possibility…

Two weeks ago on The Daily Circuit, outgoing Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak reflected on his term and the future of the city. What caught my attention (and certinaly caught host Kerri Miller’s and several callers) was Rybak’s claim that we can add 150,000 people to the city in the next few years. Immediately the phone lines lit up and a caller was on the air claiming she loves Minneapolis but we are “living on top of one another.” Rybak explained that the caller need not worry about the character of single-family neighborhoods and all this density can go along a…

One of the many charms of Madison, Wisconsin is the Wisconsin State Capitol building and grounds. I will explain how it trumps even the capitol building in the nation’s capital, but first a story. Wisconsin State Capitol “by the light of the moon” In early 2011 a battle was raging in the halls and on the state capitol grounds over Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to end collective bargaining among unions. The unions fought back and a bitter standoff ensued, culminating in a failed vote to oust Walker. The State of Wisconsin, bless their collective hearts, is bruised if not permanently…

Over at Streets.mn, we are rolling out several essays on the “Best of” in the Twin Cities built environment. The following is my post from today, but check back every day in the next couple weeks for a new installment…. What is the best surviving Main Street? From the late 19th or early 20th Century? In a former railroad or interurban town? Pretty picky parameters, but our readers have considered the many examples from that era and the winner is (drumroll please)… Stillwater. I get it. Stillwater is a lovely town, as popular as ever for a day trip. There…

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”…