A city is a science experiment. What happens when we separate human beings from the environment in which they evolved? Can people be healthy without nature? The results have been bleak. Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of
Minnehaha Creek has long been treated like a glorified drainage ditch as it flows downstream from Lake Minnetonka through south Minneapolis, dumping street runoff into the Mississippi River. A new partnership seeks to redefine the creek’s relationship with the people who live along its banks and play in the lakes
Months after a judge threw out Minneapolis’ 2040 Comprehensive Plan — prompting in-progress housing projects to grind to a halt — local developers are still hoping that the plan that made Minneapolis the first American city to end single-family zoning can be reinstated, and their projects resurrected. One way that could happen? The
In a city known for flooding in the spring, when melting snow swells the Red River, Moorhead’s engineer Bob Zimmerman has been studying what he calls “the other kind of flood” — the kind that results from intense rainstorms. This kind of storm, he said, would soak Moorhead with several inches
Minneapolis has put aside its 2040 Comprehensive Plan after a judge declined to delay an earlier order blocking its implementation. The city has now updated its website with an announcement that until further notice, it would return to 2030 land use ordinances. Those guidelines, which reinstate single-family zoning and roll back requirements
The plaintiffs in the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan lawsuit did the near-impossible: We “fought City Hall” and won. Repeatedly. That victory gave teeth to our state’s bedrock environmental law, the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act of 1971 (MERA), which says every Minnesotan has the right to clean air, land and water.
A Hennepin County judge has again ruled Minneapolis must immediately cease implementation of its 2040 comprehensive plan, which has been in effect for the past three years. The city now has 60 days to revert back to its 2030 Plan, according to the order. The city has said it might
“There are limits to what can be achieved by rethinking a city only one building at a time. Even the most cutting-edge buildings can negatively influence their surroundings in unforeseen ways.” Singapore’s prime minister has described climate change as “life and death.” He has reason to worry: Stifling temperatures and
Recent Minnesota summers have brought warmer temperatures, drought conditions, and — due to Canadian wildfires — air quality issues. On August 23rd, the Twin Cities broke a 1948 heat record when temperatures reached 98 degrees at MSP airport. This Labor Day weekend, the Twin Cities tied longstanding heat records. Urban communities are experiencing so-called urban heat
A Minnesota court and law has dealt a major blow this month to the latest trend in urban planning theory — densification and the elimination of single-family zoning. The implications of this decision should force cities and metropolitan areas to rethink the environmental tradeoffs between continued sprawl and urban density.