Posts tagged with 'Minnesota'

Stimulus Woes: How One Coalition is Working for More Equitable Spending

Friday, September 25th, 2009
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For 17 straight years, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has failed to meet their own, not-remarkably-ambitious hiring goals: that at least 11% of their workforce should be people of color and at least 6% should be women. (Minnesota is 85% white, though not 94% male.) The economic stimulus was meant to benefit everyone in hard economic times, partially through job creation in the transportation sector. African-Americans are hit disproportionately by job losses in a recession, but in Minnesota they haven’t received the full benefit from the stimulus money, an investment meant to aid everyone.

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Chalk up a victory for Minnesota and neighborhood schools

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
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Huge, sprawling “mega-schools” built at the edges of town aren’t required by law in Minnesota. But minimum acreage recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Education have forced local communities into a one-size-fits-all approach, resulting in new schools that are unwalkable and unconnected to the rest of their communities. On July 1st, this is going to change in Minnesota.

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Parking flexibility as an economic development tool

Monday, June 8th, 2009
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Far too often, the insanity of minimum parking requirements drive development decisions, to the detriment of just about everyone — a theme best developed by UCLA’s Don Shoup in his terrific book, The High Cost of Free Parking. Another story, as both data point and lesson: Our favorite local micro-brewery gives tours; we went last Friday evening, where we heard a version of this story.

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