Re-Imagining the Re-Thinking I-94 Proposals

The Minnesota Department of Transportation says they’re “rethinking” this freeway, but then came up with 10 proposals for roads for automobiles, just of different configurations. How rethought is that, really?

Top StoryPine SalicaAugust 8, 2023end highway expansion, minnesota, infrastructure Be the First to Comment

Here’s Where the Best Developers Are: Your Town

A local fitness center in Chisholm, MN, shows that you don’t need to look far outside of your city or town to find the best people to develop it.

Seairra JonesAugust 3, 2023small scale developers, minnesota, success stories, small business, local economy, Community Action Lab Be the First to Comment

Rethinking the Unthinkable

Why is it so hard to imagine removing a 60-year-old freeway from the heart of my city—even as someone who likes the idea?

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 19, 2023freeway removal, history, urban freeways, minnesota, end highway expansion Be the First to Comment

Designed for Community

Design doesn’t necessarily make a community, but, as this neighborhood in St. Paul, MN, shows, it does matter.

Herriges, Community Stories, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 12, 2023urban design, public investment, public space, minnesota, neighborhoods Be the First to Comment

The Earliest Roots of the Suburban Experiment

This series of studies of 19th-century development in St. Paul, MN, can help us understand some of the earliest traces of what would later become the suburban development pattern.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 7, 2023traditional development pattern, Incremental Housing, incremental growth, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, history, suburbs, minnesota 5 Comments

ADUs Are Working Great—Just Not for the Twin Cities

Why hasn't there been more small-scale and incremental housing added in the Twin Cities after the zoning reform that was passed several years ago?

Top StoryZak YudhishthuApril 20, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing policy, zoning, accessory dwelling unit, minnesota 2 Comments

We Can Have Both More Housing and Good Urban Form

It’s not difficult to have good urban design, the kind that respects neighbors and the neighborhoods they live in. It’s actually a lot less work than the processes we use to administer the suburban zoning codes we have today.

Marohn, Top Story, Community StoriesCharles MarohnApril 3, 2023urban design, NIMBY, housing, density, aesthetics, yimby, minnesota, neighborhoods 34 Comments

Revised Zoning Rules Make Minnesota City Legal Again

Zoning restrictions in this Minneapolis suburb have rendered much of its original development in violation of its current rules. The city’s leadership is looking to change that.

Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 9, 2023Incremental Housing, zoning, housing, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, suburbs, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, minnesota 1 Comment

Finding the Pulse of My Hometown

Our Neighborhood Storyteller visits her hometown to both mourn and celebrate the changes that have happened there over the years.

Top StoryKarla TheilenDecember 4, 2022small towns, local business, restaurants, minnesota Be the First to Comment

Taco John’s 2.0

Our most famous case study revealed the high cost of auto-oriented development. But what if a little creative rearrangement could make things a whole lot better?

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtOctober 21, 2022urban planning, urban design, traditional development pattern, suburban development pattern, Taco Johns, suburban retrofit, productive place, minnesota, end parking mandates and subsidies 16 Comments

This Ice Machine Is a Case Study in Neighborhood Decline

When you prioritize fast car movement on a street that should be for building community wealth, don’t be surprised when you end up getting neither.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 19, 2022streets, capitalism, decline, small towns, suburban development pattern, minnesota, stroad, safe and productive streets, neighborhoods 11 Comments

If You Want People to Use Public Transit, Connect the Places Where People Want to Walk

The Strong Towns team got together recently and used some of Minneapolis’s public transit. Here’s our reflections from that experience.

Top StoryJay StangeAugust 23, 2022transit, public transportation, transportation, Not Just Bikes, minnesota 3 Comments

A Recent Lawsuit Uses “Environmentalism” To Argue Against Walkable, Compact Development in Minneapolis. What the Heck Is Going On?

The environmental groups suing Minneapolis to block implementation of its groundbreaking 2040 Plan have a limited understanding of environmentalism, but a keen grasp of how to slow down policy reform.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 22, 2022Climate Change, climate, environment, zoning, NIMBY, incremental growth, incremental development, incrementalism, infill, minnesota 21 Comments

Less Parking Lots, More People Space

This interactive map allows you to view just how much space is being wasted in your city (and in the rest of the U.S.) on parking lots.

Top StoryKatya KisinJune 20, 2022parking minimums, car culture, car dependency, maps, mapping, urban design, transit, history, minnesota, end parking mandates and subsidies, public transportation 6 Comments

A Minnesota Judge Throws the Book at Immoral Tax Assessments

This case shows why local governments need to do a better job accounting for maintenance costs.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 9, 2022maintenance, finance, municipal finance, Assessments, local government, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, Law, minnesota, local economy 34 Comments

Remembering All the Things I’m Supposed to Worry About

Our Neighborhood Storyteller recently received a call about her aging father, who, with his driving privileges revoked, has had to resort to walking on unsafe roads…