Twin Cities Streets for People

Can an urban ecovillage model be a possibility in St. Paul? This report done by Elizabeth Turner makes a compelling case for one. Here is the executive summary:

This paper explores types of development that would be most sustainable for Sparc’s Willow Reserve property, in the full economic, environmental, and social definition of the word. The concept of the Urban Ecovillage is explored in depth, and successful examples in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis are profiled.

An Urban Ecovillage is defined as a community of residents with a common fervor for ecological living working towards existing in a way that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. This philosophy can take a wide variety of forms, although there are many commonalities. Ecovillages usually employ techniques of permaculture and co‐housing and often have a gardening component. While the first ecovillages were in rural areas, a growing number can be found in cities, where they can serve as a catalyst for sustainable development in their urban surroundings.

This post from Across the Great Divide made me think about how people report car crashes, particularly when a pedestrian, bicyclist, or driver dies in the crash. Do reporters call it an "accident" or a "crash"? Do they say that the person "was killed" or that the person "died"?

I remember reading recently about an attorney general in Florida who made headlines by trying to get drivers tried for murder instead of for vehicular homocide, in the interest of reducing inattentive driving. But it poses the question: if you are texting and speeding while driving a car, and hit and kill someone on a bicycle, are you guilty of murder? Or was it just an accident? Read more >

“Planners have traditionally focused on issues like housing, transportation all the things that make our lives easier, better and more comfortable.  But for some reason for the last several decades have stopped thinking about access to food.”  Samina Raja Read more >

When the First National Conference on City Planning took place in Washington, DC, 100 ago, the delegates failed to foresee the consequences of automobility and suburbanization, but in other ways they were remarkably prescient. They stressed the importance of the linkage between transportation and land use, understood that transportation facilities must be harmoniously embedded in the urban fabric, and viewed transportation investment as a way to direct growth, revitalize flagging areas, and link jobs and housing. Since transportation planners in subsequent decades kept this vision alive, envisioning a network of context-sensitive urban freeways fully integrated into the urban milieu, why is this not what was built?

<< in process >> Read more >

LGC - the economic benefits of walkable communites ... Read more >

Sure we all would like a safer, more comfortable and more walkable realm - but beyond the health, safety, transportation, and aesthetic improvements, does it make economic sense to improve our pedestrian realm? Read more >

The worst of all possible worlds includes cemeteries in surface parking lots. Read more >

Will the provision of high-quality transit along Broadway Avenue ("Bottineau Boulevard") actually improve access to destinations and improve economic outlooks for residents of North Minneapolis? According to a recent CURA report, the outlook is not very optimistic. Read more >

A thorough and informative overview of the policy and design decisions that allowed Copenhagen to become one of the world's most bicycle friendly cities (with a winter climate that is not too different from the Twin Cities). Includes many excellent photographs and graphics, illustrations of design standards, and guidance for intersection design. A best-practices 'must-read'. Read more >