Dear Minneapolis: This is weird

10/30/2013

I'm not sure if you've noticed, Minneapolis, but there is an enormous swath of highways in the middle of the city. I've lived one mile from this highway knot for four years and it still blows my mind.

It separates awesome hippy hangouts like Seward from the thriving East African hotspots in Cedar-Riverside, trendy downtown from the University hipsters. The Vikings stadium, the Mississippi River, Little Earth Indian Reservation (one of the largest urban Indian reservations), the University of Minnesota, the best coop in the cities, Hennepin County Medical Center and the Mill City Museum are all within one mile of this highway maze. Did the city miss the memo about how mixing folks is good for growth?

6 Comments

Marc link

10/30/2013 09:45:07 am

Not to mention the fact that the 35W-94 interchange is a constant cluster-eff. Bad planning indeed.

On mixing folks being good (for social order), see Paris, and how different classes mix within buildings: the wealthy on the bottom floors, the less wealthy on the top floors, in the apartments formerly reserved for domestic staff.

Aine

10/30/2013 11:21:04 am

Seems like France is a solution for everything these days ;)

Lindsey

10/30/2013 10:59:07 pm

That interchange is a legacy of the "urban renewal" period of federal investment strategies in the 1950's and 1960's, which included the construction of the interstate highway system. The highway was routed through several of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. The reason why there is a "dip" south between Hwy 280 and the Huron exit is because my neighborhood rallied to save some historically significant homes, including a property designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Since the 1970s, it's become a lot harder for public agencies to build infrastructure that is disruptive like this. The requirements for public input and engagement are a lot stricter, as are requirements for formal analysis of environmental, cultural and socio-economic impacts.

Lindsey

10/30/2013 11:03:30 pm

There are some interesting recent examples of cities "undoing" the impact of highways in their core districts. Los Angeles, for example, shortened a highway offramp, built extensive underground parking, and then used the reclaimed street-level space to build a new downtown park district. It cost them $1B to do that, so it's not a strategy that every city can undertake. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see how cities are adapting to the times. Our generation is much more interested in living within the city than the past 2-3 generations.

Aine

10/31/2013 12:08:13 am

It helps to have a little historical reference from a native Minnesotan. Thanks Lindsey! And good job, Prospect Park.

James

11/7/2013 01:04:51 am

There's also a nice example of a North American city that didn't have to "undo" this planning snafu: Vancouver, BC. They saw what American cities were doing and decided it wasn't necessary. So there's no freeway leading to downtown! Not a coincidence that it consistently ranks as the top city in North America. And a few traffic lights are worth it!

Dear Minneapolis: This is weird

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Aine Seitz McCarthy

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