Featured Stories

The Real-World Impacts of Creative Placemaking in MSP

Sheila Regan Wednesday, September 10, 2014

NEA, ArtPlace and others have poured millions of dollars toward creative placemaking projects in the Twin Cities in recent years. What are the street-level results of those investments?

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Transportation

University, Lake Street, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Seward, Longfellow, Powderhorn

The Power of Co-Working: Why MSP's Tech Startups Are Pooling Resources and Talents

Brian Martucci Wednesday, August 06, 2014

MSP isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Silicon Valley and Austin. But our local tech startup scene is leaping forward due to homegrown co-working companies, which lower barriers to success, growth and profitability through collaboration.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Emerging Technologies, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, High Technology, Strong Local Economy, Talent Dividend

University, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Downtown/Lowertown

Planners attribute $2.5 billion in new development to the Green Line, photo by Kyle Mianulli

Beyond the Rails: Mapping the Development, Cultural and Community Impact of the New Green Line

Kyle Mianulli Wednesday, June 11, 2014

More than providing a convenient, environmentally friendly transit option, the $957 million Green Line light-rail project down the Central Corridor is proving a catalyst for rejuvenating the once vibrant, 11-mile spine connecting the Twin Cities.

Affordable Housing, Central Corridor, diversity, Shopping, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Union Park, University, Macalester - Groveland, Midway, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Saint Anthony Park, Downtown/Lowertown, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

Installing the Boyces' array, courtesy EcoMetro Tour

Solar Twin Cities: Where Urban Farming, Social Justice, Green Tech and Sustainable Living Meet

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A sneak peek at the solar initiatives of a Twin Cities homeowner, nonprofit and entrepreneurial restaurant/farm featured during the EcoMetro Sustainable Living Tour on May 31 sponsored by the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Emerging Technologies, Emerging Technology, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Transit Oriented Development

University, Saint Anthony Park, Southwest, North Side, Downtown/Lowertown

Marking alleys, courtesy Andy Sturdevant

Alley Activation: Pathways to Urban Revitalization

Eric Peterson Wednesday, April 23, 2014

From Seattle to Washington D.C., alleys are being reinvented as people-friendly spaces. Often perceived as dirty and dangerous, alleys are moving beyond garbage and garages to become havens for pedestrians, public art and small business.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration

Central Avenue, Phillips, University, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Downtown, Lake Street, Southwest, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Seward, Nokomis, Longfellow, Calhoun - Isles, Powderhorn

The young women of Little Mekong, courtesy Little Mekong

Cultural Districts + LRT Stops: A Guide to the Central Corridor's Arts and Culture Hotspots

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Central Corridor is becoming the Twin Cities' new cultural hotspot showcasing local diversity, bringing communities closer together, and boosting economic opportunities.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Nightlife, Shopping, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Union Park, University, Midway, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Saint Anthony Park, Downtown/Lowertown, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown

Creative CityMaking: Minneapolis' Model for Diversity in Placemaking

Brian Martucci Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Creative CityMaking, Intermedia Arts’ bold placemaking, problem-solving collaboration with the City of Minneapolis, recently received a three-year grant that promises to deepen the initiative’s reach in previously unimaginable ways.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Transit Oriented Development

University, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake

Virajita Singh and the transportation group.

Design Thinking at the U of M: Organizing Collaborations Around Social Issues

Jennifer Gilhoi Wednesday, March 12, 2014

How groups at the University of Minnesota are using design thinking as the creative approach to explore new ways of working and collaborating.

Coordination/Collaboration, Design, diversity, Higher Education, Strong Local Economy

University

Next in Transit: The Green Line, Then Southwest Rail?

Conrad deFiebre Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The Green Line sets the stage for a full regional transit network unlike anything we've seen since the heyday of the streetcars.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Transportation

University, Midway, Downtown, Saint Anthony Park, Southwest, Downtown/Lowertown

Ten Thousand Things in "The Music Man," photo by Paula Keller

Ten Thousand Things: Connecting with Communities Through Imaginative Theater

Carl Atiya Swanson Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The Minneapolis theater company Ten Thousand Things builds connections both radical and backed by tradition by telling stories for intimate and often non-traditional audiences, with the lights up and minimal staging, using the power of communal imagination.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Talent Dividend

University, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Downtown, Lake Street, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Powderhorn

Assisting Fellows via the C3 and CCAP programs

Jobs, Housing, Transit: Leveraging the Economic Power of the Central Corridor's Anchor Institutions

Brian Martucci Wednesday, February 12, 2014

How key non-profits have forged partnerships with healthcare institutions along the Green Line to generate corridors of opportunity for job seekers, residents, and communities.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Healthcare, Higher Education, Strong Local Economy, Transportation

University, Midway, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Saint Anthony Park, Downtown/Lowertown

Osage dancers, courtesy College of Design

The Endangered Osage Language Gets a Unicode-Friendly Alphabet

Brian Martucci Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Jessica Harjo, a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Design MA program and a current PhD candidate, has sketched out a novel orthography for the Osage language.

Arts and Culture, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Higher Education

University

Beer, Breweries, Bees, Bikes: The Line's Top Stories of 2013

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The Line buzzed in 2013 with articles—many of them in the top 10 most-read of the year—on topics starting with a “b”: beer and architect-designed breweries, beekeeping and bike entrepreneurs among them.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Greater East Side, University, Payne - Phalen, Warehouse/North Loop

Galtier Community School Embraces Design Thinking for Greater Flexibility in Learning

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Galtier Community School in Saint Paul decided to revolutionize education through design thinking after the American Architectural Foundation’s (AAF) Design for Learning program.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Philanthropy, Talent Dividend

Greater East Side, University, Midway, Payne - Phalen