Chris Bentley describes the first piece of an ambitious plan to return portions of Minneapolis' Mississippi River coastline to a more natural state, and encourage public access and redevelopment in the process.
"The Minneapolis Parks Department has commenced its RiverFirst Initiative, a plan to return portions of the city’s Mississippi River frontage to a more natural state by 2016," writes Bentley. "The city hopes to position the river at the center of an ecologically focused urban development strategy that will guide growth for decades to come through strategic interventions at seven points along the waterway."
He describes the design for Scherer Park, by Berkeley-based Tom Leader Studio and Boston’s Kennedy & Violich Architecture (TLS/KVA), the first of these interventions to move forward.
“Sometimes I think of our design process as stripping away the thin industrial layer that covers the site to reveal the river as it actually is,” said KVA’s Sheila Kennedy. “So words like ‘new’ and ‘restore’ don’t really capture the idea that the hard bounded pool-like river we see today is in fact a constructed reality.”
FULL STORY: River Town
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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