Reweaving the Urban Fabric: Great City Design Teams

Back Story

By 2012, Minneapolis will become an interwoven collection of sustainable urban villages where residents will live within walking distance of the things they need or the public transportation to get them there. Residents will travel via a transportation network to “destination streets.” A mix of unique small businesses will thrive. And Minneapolis neighborhoods will have distinctive identities and character.

Helping to make all this happen is AIA Minneapolis, which continues to nurture a longstanding relationship with the City of Minneapolis . AIA150 offered a perfect opportunity to solidify this relationship. In February of 2006, the chapter joined with city Mayor R.T. Rybak to launch the Mayor's Great City Design Teams as an AIA150 Legacy Project.

According to Rybak, the purpose of the Great City Design Teams is “to help residents develop community visions for their neighborhood, energize neighbors into action, and help more residents understand urban design and development planning.” In a 2007 interview with AIArchitect, Mayor Rybak noted that Minneapolis has always valued urban planning, but he has made an attempt to refocus the dialogue. “ Minneapolis has a collection of tremendous buildings, but they need to be woven back into an urban fabric that focuses on the pedestrian experience, increased public transportation, less sprawl, and more sustainable design,” he said.

The steering committee formed to implement the Design Teams included a wide range of stakeholders: Mayor Rybak and members of his staff; representatives of the Urban Land Institute; state leaders of the American Society of Landscape Architects; the president of AIA Minneapolis; faculty from the University of Minnesota College of Design; the director of the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota; the director of the Minneapolis Planning Department; and the executive director of the Center for Neighborhoods. Getting these individuals together in itself marked an important accomplishment.

Design Teams gathered for six charrettes in 2007, with more planned for 2008. Team members, in concert with interested parties in the community, considered a variety of neighborhood case studies—defined by prominent intersections throughout the city—and collaborated to develop recommendations for improvement, including specific implementation plans.

One community task force worked with a Design Team to help develop a vision for the 40th and Lyndale intersection, with a primary goal of creating a land use proposal reflecting the interests of residents and taking into account proposed street design changes. Another Design Team worked with a community council on the area along E. 46th Street between 46th Avenue S. and the Ford Bridge to create a landmark gateway into Minneapolis and the Longfellow community and link to city development efforts at a local light rail station. For Central Avenue NE and NE Lowry Avenue , the Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce challenged its Design Team to help bring fresh perspective on how to fill the gap at the southeast corner of the intersection and help local business owners and residents come to an agreement on development for the corner.

An additional element of AIA Minneapolis' work on this project included the development of Community Toolboxes that will be distributed to more than 80 neighborhood and community organizations in the city. The toolboxes include information on the city development process, a list of community resources, examples of relevant projects, and materials on livability.

This Blueprint for America initiative has helped communities to see their own potential and understand how they fit into the larger city context, to engage and utilize the city processes and resources available to them, and to access the importance and value of design as a tool for effective community development.

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