urbanMSP

I came close to posting this under the Apps thread but because this only exists in the U.K. for now it seems better noted as a trend... A company has created an app where they will pay people to anonymously report illegally parked cars, essentially cutting app users a commission for the towing penalty to the illegally parked car.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 60881.html

Genius. But it could be dangerous.

I would quit my job and just become a professional parking snitch

StarTribune story about the abundance of cardboard boxes and uptick in delivery traffic to homes and multi family with the rise of online shopping.

http://www.startribune.com/consumers-wr ... 415956224/

I wonder if with the rise of online shopping we'll see a new style of delivery service and residential mailboxes (for packages) by the curb. I'd be interested to know about how the USPS changed suburban mail delivery from doorside to curbside. In my old house in St Paul we still had the mail slot and the house was build in the late 40's. I know many of the new suburban housing developments are installing community style mailboxes rather than individual mailboxes for each house.

I know there are already some options out there, Amazon pickup locations, or delivery to other locations that are secure...

Taskrabbit started up in Minneapolis today.

The US may just have way too much retail. Even without Amazon, we're due for retail to crash.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... SApp_Other

This is an amazing look at the changes some cities and companies are evaluating with the rise of online ordering with delivery.

https://mobilitylab.org/2017/04/13/role ... ongestion/

Interesting point, streetside delivery to stores is pretty efficient for delivery companies. Into malls? Cumbersome and slows delivery down.

Came upon a service (three cities so far, SF, Chi, NY) where you can specify a delivery window within an hour so you can be home when it arrives instead of having it sit outside your door all day.

https://www.doorman.co/

Now if only they would do that for when your internet provider needs to stop by instead of 'we'll be by sometime in this 8 hour window...maybe...if we feel like it'

Some car dealerships are shifting to keeping their inventory on much less expensive real estate, and sell off some of their expensive urban lots.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/auto-deale ... ding_now_5

I have hoped some of the dealership clusters around the Twin Cities figured this out, shrunk their lots to keep only a few models for rest driving, then after cars are bought, ship in the car bought from the distant out lot.

That's a lot of land that could be put to more productive tax paying use.

Interesting, I hope that continues. I definitely would like to see better use of space than just big parking lots of shiny cars that just sit and sit.

The car lots along 394 from 100 to 169 are unreal, and they keep adding dealers.
Morrie's 394 Hyundai, Borton Volvo, Motorworks Mini, Lupient Buick GMC, Lupient Infiniti, Morrie's Luxury Auto, Morrie's Cadillac, Rudy Luther Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Kia under construction. Lots of acres.

Because zoning is what it is, I wonder if we'll just see dealers subdivide their parcels and squeeze in show rooms for additional brands. In the way concentrations of restaurants benefits all restaurants in an area, concentrating ever more car dealers in the same amount of space benefits those dealers?

At least until our rented robot car future arrives?

Ain't no way I'm buying a car I haven't driven.

That said I'd rather not buy a car again... (Almost certainly will)

You'd think this would be an excellent opportunity to move beyond the ridiculously outdated franchise dealership model, and allow for people to directly configure and order the car of their liking.

But yeah, government-regulated rent seeking behavior benefiting a cartel, and all that.

Did anyone else get the notice from the USPS about "Informed Delivery" now available?

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/p ... art.action

Detailed Images of Your Incoming Mail

Participate in this new USPS® service enhancement test and get images of the mail that will be placed in your mailbox each day. Black and white images of your actual letter-sized mail pieces, processed by USPS® sorting equipment, will be provided to you each morning. Flat-sized pieces, such as catalogues or magazines, may be added in the future.

To me, this is a waste. Half (or more) of the USPS mail I get is junk mail. I don't want it in my email too!

Did anyone else get the notice from the USPS about "Informed Delivery" now available?

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/p ... art.action

Detailed Images of Your Incoming Mail

Participate in this new USPS® service enhancement test and get images of the mail that will be placed in your mailbox each day. Black and white images of your actual letter-sized mail pieces, processed by USPS® sorting equipment, will be provided to you each morning. Flat-sized pieces, such as catalogues or magazines, may be added in the future.

To me, this is a waste. Half (or more) of the USPS mail I get is junk mail. I don't want it in my email too!

It's nice if you're waiting for a check!

In China, new upstart bike sharing apps are starting to take off such that car sharing is taking a dip.

http://m.scmp.com/business/article/2095 ... haring-app

The dominant Chinese car-share service has taken an investment position in a bike-share company to hedge its bets.

NY Times: Seattle Climbs but Austin Sprawls: The Myth of the Return to Cities

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/upsh ... .html?_r=0

Did anyone else get the notice from the USPS about "Informed Delivery" now available?

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/p ... art.action

Detailed Images of Your Incoming Mail

Participate in this new USPS service enhancement test and get images of the mail that will be placed in your mailbox each day. Black and white images of your actual letter-sized mail pieces, processed by USPS sorting equipment, will be provided to you each morning. Flat-sized pieces, such as catalogues or magazines, may be added in the future.

To me, this is a waste. Half (or more) of the USPS mail I get is junk mail. I don't want it in my email too!

It's nice if you're waiting for a check!

Its also nice if you are blind or Visually Impared.


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Minneapolis leading the pack in Midwestern tech growth from Silicon Valley outflows.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/new ... 100027750/

The rise of ride booking services, this story goes into, may herald uncertain future for the A/B/C ramps.

http://finance-commerce.com/2017/08/tra ... abc-ramps/

I guess. In a distant future we may need no parking. But it’s really not just those ramps with an uncertain future.

IMO the A/B/C ramps give the city a back stop supply of parking that can let the city target phasing out parking ramps in the CBD first.