Dave Dix has made a good point about Minneapolis' transition into
entertainment. A good book on this is "Fantsay City: Pleasure and Profit
in the Postmodern Metropolis" by John Hannigan. Available at some of the
college libraries, Mpls ("for use in the library") and Hennepin.
The comments on the list about small towns and cities, suburbs, and exurbs
brings to mind the often quoted surveys that most Americans would like to
live in "small towns", whatever that means, that are used by urban planners
(out of touch) to show why we should spend lots of money to build "walkable
communities". The examples here show that those who do live in small towns
won't be lured into the city by 1930s stytle "small town" imitations.
As someone else said, people live where they want to live. You may not
want to live in Woodbury, but a whole lot of people do. What makes you
so much "better" than they are? If you don't like a place, don't move there.
I grew up across from the tennis courts at Powderhorn Park, lived a couple
of years in Edina, lived seven years at 37th and Colfax, and have been in
the Highland Park area of Saint Paul for twenty years. I wouldn't move to
most any suburb because they aren't central enough for me. In most weeks,
I travel to three of the four quadrants of the metro area, depending on
what my purpose is.
Another good book is "The United States of Suburbia: How the Suburbs Took
Control of America and What They Plan to Do With It" by G. Scott Thomas.
Remember that we had suburbs here a hundred years ago. There is an
interesting statistic that says that most people have lived within a half
hour commuting distance of their work for 150 years and more, and that this
behavior may possibly be traced back to the time of the Romans. Whether
the commute was by foot, horse, cart, streetcar, bus, or auto, the average
time has remained in the 20-30 minute range.
Bruce Gaarder
Highland Park Saint Paul
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
