Minnesota

Who Will End the Transportation Funding Insanity?

Charles Marohn starts off the year strong by throwing down the gauntlet on the perpetual transportation funding debate.

January 7, 2015 - Strong Towns

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton Proposes Gas Tax

The tax would be a wholesale tax paid by fuel suppliers as has become more common in the last two years, not a retail tax at the gas pump. The Democratic governor's main problem may be his timing—the house flipped to Republican control.

January 2, 2015 - Pioneer Press

Downtown Cincinnati

60 Years of Midwestern Urban Renewal

Researchers at the Institute for Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma prepared a set of images to show the indelible impact of mid-20th century urban renewal on Midwestern cities.

December 18, 2014 - Institute for Quality Communities

New Designs Revealed for $50 Million Renovation of Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall

The public recently got a first look at a new design proposal from James Corner Field Operations for the $50 million improvement of Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

December 17, 2014 - MinnPost

Bicycle Plan Leads to Parking Policy Questions in St. Paul

St. Paul is in the community engagement stage of a bike planning process expected to culminate early next year. Among the bike plan's proposals, none have sparked as much controversy as a downtown loop that would remove street parking.

December 13, 2014 - Minneapolis Post

When People Say 'Functionally Obsolete' but Really Mean 'Redline'

A MinnPost column finds nefarious purposes at work in the use of a couple of the common buzzwords employed in debates about Minneapolis housing.

December 2, 2014 - MinnPost

Defending the Metropolitan Council as Political Support for Regional Planning Wanes

An editorial in the MinnPost supports the regional planning of the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities metro area, which has been beset by a string of controversial decisions.

November 19, 2014 - MinnPost

Twin Cities Suburbs Planning for Transit Oriented Development

Local governments along the route Southwest Light Rail line in the suburbs of the Twin Cities are anticipating the route by studying and creating plans to accommodate transit oriented development.

November 12, 2014 - Finance & Commerce

Main Street

The Many Benefits of Traditional Development

Charles Marohn assesses some of the economic benefits of traditional commercial development as compared to those of auto-oriented commercial development.

November 8, 2014 - The American Conservative

Einstein's Bike Shop

Study Ties Bike Infrastructure to Increased Active Commutes

A study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina finds a connection between bike-friendly infrastructure investments and positive public health outcomes.

November 6, 2014 - ScienceDaily

The Twin Cities Offer Free Election Day Transit—Does it Matter?

There is little, or no, evidence that offering free transit on election day improves voter turnout. Today the Twin Cities will do it anyway for the sake of, hopefully, improving the democratic process.

November 4, 2014 - CityLab

Better Streets Include Transit

Dan Reed examines the Green Line in Minneapolis near the campus of the University of Minnesota as a case study of how transit can improve streets.

October 31, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Great Lakes Leaders Call for Drinking Water Protections

In light of August's drinking water catastrophe in Toledo, Ohio, Great Lakes mayors gathered this week to call for policy action to protect water resources round the Great Lakes.

September 25, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Calling for a Transportation Sales Tax in the Twin Cities

Citing the model of Houston's local-tax-funded Red Line, a writer argues for a local sales tax in the Twin Cities to support urban transit investments.

September 23, 2014 - Streets.MN

Citi Bike Rack

The United States' Top Large City for Biking Is...

Portland (top city in 2012)? Minneapolis (top city in 2010)? No, it's the Big Apple! New York City leaped from #7 in 2012 to the top spot this year for cities with populations of 100,000 or greater.

September 8, 2014 - StreetsBlog NYC

Local Governments Onboard with Minneapolis' Southwest Light Rail

With a vote last week by the Minneapolis City Council, the final local consent was granted the proposed Southwest light rail project. Despite that benchmark political action, the project will not be without challenges moving forward.

September 5, 2014 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Planning for Rural Minnesota's 'Brain Gain'

While the share of Americans living in rural communities is decreasing relative to the overall population, some rural areas, such as the Willmar lakes area in Minnesota, have managed to attract young residents.

August 29, 2014 - West Central Tribune

City Council Hearing Prompts Opposition to Minneapolis' Light Rail Plans

The Southwest Corridor light-rail project appeared before the Minneapolis City Council last week, which prompted James Linbeck to write a scathing op-ed in opposition to the project.

August 28, 2014 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Review Finds Flaws in St. Paul's Draft Complete Streets Design Manual

Andy Singer reviews the new Complete Streets Design Manual Draft for the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

August 23, 2014 - Streets MN

Interpreting the 'Timeless and Time-Bound' in Cities

In his latest essay on interpretation of the urban environment, Chuck Wolfe suggests that if we take away context clues cities become matrices -- with blank cells to complete -- where each of us personalizes how space meets time.

August 21, 2014 - The Huffington Post

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.