NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES | Development on the Mississippi

Peter Hendee Brown knows waterfront development and is willing to share what he knows.  He’ll be speaking on Thursday, July 26, 5:00-7:00, at Minneapolis Park & Recreation Headquarters, 2117 West River Road.

Whether you are concerned or just confused you probably are wondering just what is going on with the mighty Mississippi – the river ebbs and flows, bridges fall and rise again, traffic patterns of rivercraft are inscrutable, and what is all that cargo being anyway.  And then there are the hundreds of new dwellings and businesses edging ever closer to the mighty waterway that divides our city and shapes our lives.

Planner and architect Peter Hendee Brown teaches private sector development at the U of M.  He is also author of America’s Waterfront Revival, a study of four very different waterfronts – the Tampa Port Authority, the Port of San Francisco, the Port of San Diego, and the Delaware River Port Authority.   Promotional materials from the publisher, the University of Pennsylvania Press, focus on the nub of the author’s message:

Despite their unique histories, markets, and geographic locations, these four ports have many similarities.  Most important, as globalization and technological change led to declines in shipping, they all evolved from single purpose maritime cargo-handling operations into diversified business organizations focused on waterfront revitalization.  All four ports became deeply involved in real estate development in support of nontraditional maritime and nonmaritime public and commercial uses.

That takes change on many fronts – legislation, regulation, finances, organizational dynamics, land use and more.

All are welcome to attend this free and open event.  Take time for a fresh look at the Mississippi which everyone knows, you can from the front porch of Park & Rec….