I recently rode a bus with my girlfriend from my house to the Science Museum of Minnesota. When we boarded, she went first using a transit pass, while I opted to go last since I paid in cash and would not hold up the bus since it could start moving while I paid. When I had finished paying, my girlfriend had already picked a spot and I sat next to her; she was on the outside of the bus, next to the windows and I was next to the aisle. I looked up and down the bus and noticed that only one woman was sitting in a forward facing seat, next to the aisle. A small sample size for sure, less than ten women on the bus the whole ride, but through the entire ride I noticed some striking ways in how people seemed to choose their seats. Continue Reading
As it says (down there) in my bio, I’m a pretty regular user of Minneapolis skyways, especially in any form of inclement weather. Nonetheless, some days, especially this time of year, are not quite cold or inclement enough to make me want to retreat entirely indoors, but still chilly enough to make an entirely outdoor walking commute less pleasant than it should be. Continue Reading
The graphic [above] is what-if for handling the railroad bridge over Lowry near Washington. Flood Plain Collective, Anna Bierbrauer and Miss Emily Lowery, who created the graphic were on hand at the last public meeting in the neighborhood prior to the Hennepin County Board’s upcoming vote on plans for Lowry Avenue Northeast.
“Greenway yog ab tsi?”, or “What is a greenway?” in the Hmong language, is a question that has been asked more than 100 times of North Minneapolis community members in and near Hmong International Academy by middle school students of color in the YMCA Beacons Minneapolis program at Hmong International Academy (HIA) – a Minneapolis Public School in the Jordan Neighborhood of North Minneapolis.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.From April to June of 2014, Hmong American Partnership, in collaboration with Hana Media & Development, provided an after-school media arts, service-learning project called In Focus: N. MPLS Greenway (or simply In Focus) for a group of mostly Hmong middle school students at the HIA, to assist the City of Minneapolis share information about the potential North Minneapolis Greenway and collect feedback from the community, especially from Asian Americans in the area who had not been a part of the city’s first round of engagement regarding the possible greenway.The participants in the In Focus project learned about video production skills, the City of Minneapolis’ greenway concepts, and community outreach techniques. Through the guidance of program facilitators, the youth helped to create Hmong and English Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos, and conducted surveys of HIA friends, families, and faculty, as well as other community members in the area. One Hmong student in the project remarked, “It’s great that we are make videos to help share this info with other Hmong in the community.”Through the PSAs and conversations about the project, community members learned that a greenway is a park-like trail that people can use for biking, walking, transportation, and recreation, and that the city is currently considering Humboldt Avenue North, from the Victory Neighborhood to the Near North or Harrison Neighborhood of North Minneapolis, as a possible route for the North Minneapolis Greenway. Continue Reading
Minnesota 2020 went to the Express Bike Shop in St. Paul to learn more about Youth Express and their apprenticeship program for young adults. Youth Express, a program of Keystone Community Services, is a program created to help young adults develop entrepreneurial skills, work ethic and leadership. Keys Stone’s investment to Youth Express helps provide a paid employment opportunity for youth who are joining the work force or those who may have already had a little work history.
Soon enough it will be Winter. Again a landscape covered with white powdery snow will reveal where travelers want to go. The first figure is an aerial shot of the former environment around the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota campus. The second figure is in front of (behind) McNamara . Though there is a sidewalk just on the right of this image, pedestrians prefer the straight line path between the Scholars Walk and the diagonal path across Walnut from Beacon Street to the intersection of Oak Street and Washington Avenue. And why shouldn’t they? It’s cold outside. The extra few feet (extra few seconds) are not worth it, even for a cleared path. Continue Reading
An increase in the amount of oil train traffic traveling through Minnesota to serve the fracking operations in western North Dakota has had a ripple effect on the passenger rail operations of Amtrak.
The new sharing economy masquerades as a people-to-people economy. That sounds friendlier than the corporate, profit-driven economy. Take a second look, though, and this new sharing economy turns out to be the old corporate wolf in a new internet fleece. Continue Reading
For most Minnesotans, a trip to the mall means getting in the car, driving through traffic, and navigating a crowded parking lot before even stepping into a store. But for residents who are moving into the new luxury apartments at One Southdale Place, a mall is just a short walk across the parking lot. These structures promote high-density, pedestrian friendly cities that strengthen community development. Continue Reading
