Planners are giving shape to one of the potentially controversial aspects of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

"Minneapolis City Council members are launching a new effort to help develop the cities’ most diverse neighborhoods grow economically while keeping those areas affordable to current business owners," according to an article by Jessica Lee.
To achieve those lofty goals, the city wants to launch six new cultural districts. "The city’s department for Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) is currently working on the details of the initiative," explains Lee, after the initiative was approved in concept as part of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
"In theory, the plan for the cultural districts is straightforward," writes Lee. "The city wants to spend money to make streets cleaner, buildings look newer and help local entrepreneurs thrive in areas of Minneapolis where the majority of residents are people of color and where there’s a high concentration of low-income households."
The idea is the subject of skepticism in some neighborhoods around the city, where investments signify rising costs and displacement. Lee devotes feature-length attention to detail to the story, telling the specific stories of numerous neighborhoods and development projects, while also citing numerous authoritative sources.
Even though planners are already ironing out the details of the initiative, money for spending on related projects is already in Mayor Jacob Frey's budget for 2020.

Amtrak Ramping Up Infrastructure Projects
Thanks to federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure act, the agency plans to triple its investment in infrastructure improvements and new routes in the next two years.

Ending Downtown San Francisco’s ‘Doom Loop’
A new public space project offers an ambitious vision—so why is the city implementing it at such a small scale?

Proposal Would Transform L.A.’s ‘Freeway to Nowhere’ Into Park, Housing
A never-completed freeway segment could see new life as a mixed-use development with housing, commercial space, and one of the county’s largest parks.

Why Brand New Cities Won’t Solve Our Urban Problems
Building cities takes time and resources. Why not spend them on fixing the ones we have?

Former Brooklyn Sugar Refinery Reopens as All-Electric Office Tower
A historic building was reimagined as a 15-story office tower powered by renewable energy.

NHTSA: Traffic Fatalities Decline for Fifth Straight Quarter
Traffic deaths were 3.3 percent lower in the first half of 2023 than the same period last year, but not all states saw the same results.
Urban3
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington University
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
Lassen County Planning and Building Services
City of San Carlos
National Capital Planning Commission
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.