Words we use to describe cities — such as "downtown," "central business district" or even "city center" — contain assumptions about what should happen there, who should live there, and how the area should look and feel. We rarely question what we mean when we talk about downtown, especially when it comes to Minneapolis.
It's time to do so.
Our definition of downtown is preventing us from creating a truly urbane, equitable and 24-hour city — a civic landscape where people live, work and play in the central city and surrounding neighborhoods.
In the early 20th century, Minneapolis had a more connected, cohesive feel. You could live in a neighborhood like Stevens Square, which is close to the center of the city, and walk to work downtown.
Along the way, you'd pass from single-family homes to apartment hotels to clusters of small businesses and offices, with the buildings growing larger and more densely spaced the closer to downtown you got.
Now Stevens Square — like many other nearby neighborhoods — is cut off from downtown by a tangle of freeways. And while the city's skyscrapers are visible for miles, the downtown area is disconnected from the rest of the city.
Cities nationwide have been facing similar problems and trying different tactics to keep their downtowns vital.
Portland, Ore., for example, is celebrated for reintroducing streetcars downtown. Some planners, looking to invigorate Minneapolis, say Portland should be our model. But it's not the streetcars that have made Portland so successful: It's that city's transit systems, which weave together the nearby neighborhoods and make car-free living possible.