Aging boomers looking to downsize; young are seeking affordability, convenience

The latest article from Steve Berg over at MinnPost digs into the issue of what the changing demographics mean for the Metro. Links to reports from a recent presentation from the Sensible Land Use Coalition are also part of the article. Data suggests that there will be aging in place issues to address and that renting will be more popular. Winners and losers are also hinted at based on the trends. Read the full article here.

Congrats Red Wing, MN on Complete Streets

The Red Wing City Council unanimously voted to adopt complete streets as policy on January 10, 2011.

Read the case study LandOf.org produced on Red Wing.

The following is a letter that appeared in Red Wing's The Republican Eagle prior to the January 10 vote. It illustrates that complete streets supports economic and community vitality along with healthy living.

Complete Streets would help city

By The Live Healthy Red Wing Committee

To the Editor:

City Council members will vote Jan. 10 regarding passage of a Complete Streets Policy Resolution.

The resolution states that as Red Wing’s roads and highways are redesigned or built in the future, planners and engineers will take into consideration the needs of all people — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and drivers. The resolution is flexible, and implementation is open based on each street or road’s situation.

Complete Streets creates a safe, aesthetically pleasant community where people can easily walk or bike to their destinations, either for transportation or recreation, and that affects many of us every day.

Over time, the resolution will produce highly positive results. Residents will find it easier and safer to walk places, thereby staying healthier in the process. Visitors will see how Red Wing values the beauty of its environment and the health and safety of its people, thereby improving tourism and enticing new businesses and families to move here.

Our city planners and engineers have been studying this design strategy for two years, including visiting other communities with successful guidelines in place. City Council members have also listened and learned about the Complete Streets movement around the country and the state. We thank all those involved for their energy and enthusiasm.

Red Wing is more than a drive-by town. We’re a destination — a place where people love to work, play, and visit. Complete Streets will help make us a stronger, safer, healthier community, and that means an economically sound city that will thrive in the future.

Those who want more information about Complete Streets can visit our website at www.livehealthyredwing.org.

Live Healthy Red Wing works to make it easier for every resident to live a healthy life, and we urge council members to vote for Complete Streets on Jan. 10.

The Live Healthy Red Wing Committee:

David Anderson

Pam Horlitz

Laurel Achen

Dan Bender

Dave Borgen

Ashlyn Christianson

Mike Melstad

Brian Peterson

Stan Slessor

Gen Y Wants Walkability

Once again we find ourselves at scratching our heads about what Gen Ys really want.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the National Association of Home Builder's conference. Key findings from surveys? Millennials want to walk everywhere. And don't want their parents’ homes and cars.

Looks like the needle is bending back towards Florida. Again.

Who’s right about America’s metropolitan future? Find out more about Richard Florida and Joel Kotkin.

MinnPost - Cityscape: Northstar's rough start shouldn't derail Southwest LRT

MinnPost - Cityscape: Northstar's rough start shouldn't derail Southwest LRT

Interesting article from Steve Berg that contrasts the difference between COMMUTER RAIL and Light Rail (which is perhaps better described as, multi-purpose, community-building, always-handy transit).

Big Boxes in Cities

As Walmart continues to make headway into more cities (they've already made their suburban-esque mark in Philadelphia) should urbanists be concerned?

The standard, sprawled out retailer, accompanied by parking lot, isn't exactly city-style.

Richard Layman wrote for the Washington Business Journal that "what we can influence is getting the physical form, site planning and mobility right, so that these stores contribute positively to the city's revitalization, available amenities and quality of life…"

Will these megastores collaborate with city developers, or are urban areas in for some suburban style?

Gen Y: Living on the Edge After All?

The question of what Gen Ys are going to do continues to be a big one for metro regions.

Kotkin’s position that metro regions will continue growing out on the urbanization edge is based on a poll from 2006—leading many to lean toward Florida’s stance that Gen Ys are shifting toward cities.

However, a recent article from Urban Land Magazine reported on a new survey of Gen Ys—and, despite many of them still living with their parents, their preferences seem to be not so different from Baby Boomers.

The question it comes down to is whether this generation will be able to afford their preferences, settle for something else or continue living in their parents’ basement.

Job Loss as a Percent of Previous Peak

While the U.S. Department of Labor reports unemployment, it doesn't use "peak employment" as the reflecting statistic. Measuring current employment against peak employment is a more accurate way to monitor the recovery (or lack of recovery) during a recession.

According to this chart from Calculated Risk, we're still well behind from returning to "full employment"—something quite different from prior recessions.

This is already the longest recession since 1945, with the exception of the dot-com-bubble-burst 2000 recession. However, based on the depths that the current recession is at, we are sure to eclipse that as well.

(click to enlarge)

Safer Suburbs? Are You Sure?

While conventional wisdom leads people to move to the suburbs for improved personal safety, the truth is much more complicated, especially for children.

Several studies have shown that the danger of dying or being injured at the hands of a stranger is greater in the suburbs (through auto accidents and pedestrians getting picked off by cars) than in central cities (through crime and auto accidents). This relationship has strengthened because crime has moved to the suburbs.

New Urban Network spotlights a study on child safety that highlights the point.