Author: The Planning Lady
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The Color of Law
Book Review When I started reading The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein I already knew about FHA’s discriminatory practices in lending and redlining from previous research for creating a local historic district in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is also how I found out about restrictive covenants that prohibited people from living in a house based…
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Plazas for Safe Protests
Since the 2016 elections, I have followed the news chronicling the latest demonstrations and protests on a wide range of issues — including immigration, inequality, and women’s rights — and felt inspired by the people who are no longer content with waiting for someone else to make change happen. At the same time, I am…
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The Legacy of World’s Fairs: Evolution Through Time
In today’s world we race to build enough structures to accommodate the Olympic Games every four years, but back in the 1800’s, cities raced to build buildings for the World’s Fair. The first World’s Fair on record took place in 1851 at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. Subsequent cities to host the fair…
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Snob Zones
Book Review In cities across America, residents balk at the idea of density. “Putting twenty-eight homes on just under four acres is crazy.” This is almost the exact density of my neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis which seems perfect to me. My yard is just the right size to mow with a reel lawn mower, but…
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Street Fight
Book Review One of the most interesting books I have read this year was Street Fight by Janette Sadik-Khan. The title may be misleading for those in the planning profession, but it truly is the story of a fight over space in the streets. Space for not only cars, but pedestrians and bicyclists too. So…
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Greening our Cities
There were numerous ways to learn about how planners can have a positive effect on water at NPC18. One session in particular highlighted how Prince George County used a public private partnership to retrofit their community with green infrastructure. Presenters covered the history of the program from inception through completion of Phase I and adjustments…
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A Century of Change: My Journey with a Historic Home
I have always wanted to live in a house that was over 100 years old. In many cities, that’s hard to come by because they have either demolished all the old homes, lost them to natural disasters, or the cities themselves are just not that old. When I bought my first home it was a…
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New Orleans: A City of Culture and Density
I do not travel nearly as much as I would like, so when the opportunity arose to visit New Orleans for the National Planning Conference I jumped on it. I was only in the city for about four days, but I covered quite a bit of ground, while still attending sessions during the day. The…
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Bike Lanes Are White Lanes
Book Review For decades bicycle advocates fought against standard transportation planning methods that put the car above all other modes of transportation. They were persistent and finally gained ground in most major cities. As Justin Spinney said, “biking is understood as apple pie; no one can hate apple pie.” The problem now that we have…
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Historic Bars of Northeast Minneapolis: A Walk Through Time
I’m fascinated by the way cities used to look, with the corner grocery store, hardware store, restaurant, and of course bar, tucked into neighborhoods, spaced about a mile apart. The resident of the 1920’s city could walk to get everything they needed or take a trolley if they needed something just a little bit further. Peppered…
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The Planning Lady 