Along with the Star Tribune editorial board, Minneapolis for Everyone supports the goals of Minneapolis 2040 — especially regarding racial and economic disparities, increasing affordable housing and protecting (not merely “tending to”) the environment.   Unlike the editorial board, however, we believe the plan’s strategies lack the focus and specificity necessary to achieve those critical … Continue reading 13 Amendments that would actually help achieve the plan’s goals

How Minneapolis 2040 damages the whole community.

The City has posted Draft 2 of the plan. It was supposed to reflect citizen input from public meetings and online comments (an estimated 85 percent of which were critical). But it’s not substantively better. In important ways it is worse. Find out what has and hasn’t changed.

In the previous two parts, I talked about regional population, sewer and transportation planning. In this piece, I want to talk about how these regional plans are translated into municipal plans. The Metropolitan Council does other planning that is integrated with sewer and transportation plans. Sewer planning is integrated with surface water and drinking water … Continue reading Why do Comprehensive Planning? Part 3.

Part One talked about how planning for sewage drives comprehensive planning.  But comprehensive planning is also about transportation. The Twin Cities have had traffic problems pretty much since the rise of automobiles. But until the Federal Highway Act in 1956, most congestion was street congestion. But when the federal government said it would pay for … Continue reading Why do Comprehensive Planning? Part 2.

It starts with sewage. A lot of it. In the beginning, people got water from wells on their property and disposed of their own sewage, which may have been a pit in the back yard. Or not. In addition, transportation was by horse, which meant sewage literally ran in the streets. And into the drinking … Continue reading Why do Comprehensive Planning? Part 1.

A feel of desertion and lack of voice of local residents as they oppose the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.