urbanMSP

But it's something else entirely for these politicians to use taxpayer money to hire a PR firm to push the narrative and give the officials political cover. The job of government is not to tell their constituents how to think on political issues -- that's the job of political parties. Here's where ...

It's one thing if a private group wants to hire a PR firm to promote a message. But again, it's really not good to have the city, who are in the end a bunch of bureaucrats hired by elected officials, hiring a PR firm to convince the people that elected them that they're wrong. I know that in this c...

I'm not saying we should lie but I am saying that we need to figure out a way to effectively sell in a more immediately appealing way. We can win among the wonks (who are what- 2% of the population?) but change is scary and it's so easy to whip up fear and shut down people's minds. ...which is why ...

It comes down to it's easier to attack something in a sentence or with a yard sign, trying to defend a plan with facts and data requires your opponent to listen in good faith. Which is why it's a bad strategy when dealing with an emotional issue like this. Right- that's my point. So far the 'pro-20...

How is it possible that politicians are unable to present and sell their visions on their own? Isn't that a core part of the profession? It's so frustrating that liberals/leftists/progressives...whatever you want to call us...are so appallingly incapable of effective politics. Policy wonkery, facts,...

Every time I tell myself not to read the comments... every time I fail.

You have my deepest sympathies. I refuse to look at them.

Sometimes business people make bad decisions. I think Boom Island Brewing's decisions have not always been the best. The brewery opened 7 years ago in a known high-crime area and even though crime has decreased relative to how it was when they opened they've made the decision that it's too dangerous...

The Minneapolis "numerological twilight zone": https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2015/02/introducing-minneapolis-numerological-twilight-zone I think that the long run would be better if certain major avenues in that area were named, but it would be a notable burden in the short run on re...

Ooops- Carol Becker accidentally tried to trademark WedgeLIVE, the name of one of her main critics! Poor Carol - could have happened to anyone! https://tonywebster.com/2018/08/carol-becker-wedge-live/ In a completely unrelated side, are we who believe in density and sound urban planning too wonkish ...

I live in the Hiawatha neighborhood between Minnehaha and Hiawatha. I've lived here nearly 15 years. I still struggle to identify what numbered avenue I live near - as it turns out, 40th Avenue is just on the other side of Minnehaha from me and 34th is on the other side of Hiawatha. Since Minnehaha-...

Bull's Horn just opened on October 31, 2017 so it's not even a year old. I'm assuming they started with a small, focused menu and will build up from there. I don't believe the dill pickle fried chicken was available when they first opened (but I'm not 100% sure on that) so it seems to me like they'r...

Stop making sense, Hiawather.

It's my way of trolling.

I'm worried about my home value as well (it's my second largest chunk of wealth after my 401K) BUT if my neighborhood suddenly sprouted a bunch of 4-plexes it would ONLY have done so if my home value increased because the area was so desirable to live in. As the nay-sayers say (in a different contex...

I've muted all of it on Nextdoor at this point. The same half dozen people repeating the same same ill informed fear mongering talking points over and over. Ire over our council member who was easily voted in. Yes, well, Nextdoor = "The same half dozen people repeating the same same ill inform...

Contrary to the typical (and carelessly) demagogic attacks on bicyclists as privileged hipsters, I submit this. "Nationally and in cities across Sun Belt, the bulk of those who bike to work – based on our best available data – are low-income people. Nationwide, 49 percent of people in the cycli...

Wait a minute...people keep saying in various local forums that the trains are always empty and a huge waste of money. Are you people trying to tell that those people are full of shxt?

Ford selects Ryan Companies as developer per Nick Halter. https://twitter.com/mspbjHalter/status/1011352518964731910 This seems like big news to people who can weigh in intelligently about what Ryan Cos as a developer might mean to this project, a group which does not include me. That being said, h...

At both the city and state level we fund the arts, from the Legacy amendment to public art/sculptures, couldn't we do something similar with architecture? Perhaps truly interesting and solid architecture isn't possible in this day and age without a public/private partnership. I think it's worth inve...

I thought my fellow urban planning wonks would find this article interesting-

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-th ... 2018-04-10

Seems 'ok' in my book. I'm not terribly *excited* about the project but I'm a strong believer in developing with density, particularly near transit lines. If only they could make accessing the train stations when coming from the east of Hiawatha more reasonable. Perhaps over time increasing populati...