Author: The Planning Lady
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Maximizing Plaza Use: Strategies for Vibrant Public Spaces
After recently starting a new job in downtown Minneapolis I noticed the plethora of public plazas available to residents, visitors, and employees. Almost every major tower has an inviting public realm leading to its primary entrance. I see a cleverly landscaped space daily from my office or when eating lunch out on the rooftop terrace.…
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Design with Nature
Book Review Cities all across the world are realizing their mistake in covering up natural features to construct bigger and better communities. After decades of building over rivers and streams, dredging wetlands for lakes, and sprawling across prime agricultural land, we are finally seeing the devastating impacts. The solutions to these problems are already being…
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Rails to Trails
Over Memorial Weekend I had the opportunity to bike from Park Rapids to Walker, Minnesota. The journey began sunny and warm, but storms in the area caught up to me a few miles south of Walker. Despite getting drenched with rain, the journey on the Heartland State Trail was very interesting. This particular trail is…
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Transforming Streets with Complete Streets Initiative
We have all driven, biked, or walked down a street that appeared wider than the traffic it served. Extra space proliferates within the area for vehicles while the pedestrian and bicyclist are forced onto a small, cracked sidewalk or into the street dodging parked cars. We constantly wonder why the road could not be redesigned…
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Little Mekong Night Market
The fourth annual Little Mekong Night Market was held this past weekend. The market is a mix of food, art, music, and cultural performances located in the heart of the Little Mekong District at Western Avenue and University Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Last year an estimated 18,000 people attended which appeared to have been…
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The Dust Bowl
There is still a generation living that can recall the hard times brought on by the Dust Bowl. I think about how my grandparents, in their late 90’s now, would have been just teenagers at that time. I recall reading Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck trying to imagine a different Nebraska than the one…
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Evolution of Lake Life
Growing up, my family and I made three nine hour trips each year to Perham, Minnesota. The first trip was always Memorial Weekend, followed by a week in June when Walleye fishing was good, then a two week family trip that included excursions to nearby attractions. I was the only one in my class that…
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Evicted
Book Review As a city planner working with a rental licensing program I found Evicted by Matthew Desmond to be an eye opening and insightful book on the life of both renters and landlords. Desmond tells the story of the rental climate of Milwaukee in 2008 and 2009, just after the housing market collapsed and rents soared…
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Jamaica’s Rich History and Vibrant Culture
I recently returned from a five day trip to Jamaica for my little sisters wedding. We had incredible weather with only one day of rain, which we ignored and swam anyways. The locals said this was their normal weather most of the year-warm, sunny, and somewhat humid when the wind is not blowing. The resort…
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Minneapolis MayDay Parade
Every year, more than 50,000 people are drawn to the Powderhorn neighborhood in south Minneapolis to participate in the festivities of the MayDay Parade. This is not your typical parade which is demonstrated in the mission statement of the event “to bring people together for the common good through the power of puppet and mask…
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The Planning Lady 