Week in Review

No Love for the Heart of the City
By Steve Berg, Star Tribune
“Minneapolis and St. Paul are failing to grow, despite their thriving suburbs, while competitor towns like Seattle and Denver are booming along with their metro areas. Why?” Read more.


Hiawatha Struggles to Become a Destination, Not a Corridor
By Marlys Harris, CityScape, MinnPost
“The sun is coming out, and the sky is bluing up. My stomach is comfortably packed with a big breakfast and my brain in receipt of its daily dose of mood-mellowing medication. So why do I feel dejected?” Read more.


Federal Funding for Bike Routes Pays off in Twin Cities
By Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune
“If you build it, they will bike. A lot. That, in essence, is the conclusion of a four-year, $100 million pilot project in four communities, including the Twin Cities, on whether investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure pays off.” Read more.


2012 Transportation Policy Bill Gets Passed by House
By Mike Cook, TC Daily Planet
“The 2012 version of the omnibus transportation policy bill was green-lighted by the House.” Read more.


Transportation Policy Bill from 2011 Is Passed
By Mike Cook, TC Daily Planet
“Speed limit violations, online driver’s education training and dollars for organ donation are part of an omnibus transportation policy bill that was passed by the House.” Read more.


Detroit: A Biography—A Review by Pete Saunders
“When I first got my review copy of Detroit: A Biography by Scott Martelle, I did the unthinkable: I started by reading the epilogue. I wanted to know right from the start where the author stood on the future of Detroit. Did his research suggest that revitalization is approaching, or even possible?” Read more.


Thinking of a Master Plan: Portland’s Mayor on Building Prosperous Cities
By Sam Adams, Mayor of Portland
Grist
“I help lead one of America’s cities—Portland, Ore. It is known for being a well-planned city. It’s not. At least, not as well as we want it to be. And not as well-planned as every American city must be.” Read more.


Sustainability in the Crazy-Quilt World of Metro Regions
By Kaid Benfield, Switchboard
“Our highly fragmented ‘system’ of local governments makes it nearly impossible to address important issues facing metropolitan America in a rational way. Indeed, just getting around a metro region can be a challenge.” Read more.