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| About LandOf.org
LandOf.org is an information salon for Minnesota developers, municipalities and the public to learn about growing smarter. It is a map to the next Minnesota. It shows how our communities can adapt to living patterns that are more efficient, better for our health, better for our planet’s wellbeing, better for our country’s security and prosperity. LandOf.org sees the future not as bitter medicine forced upon us, but an opportunity to live in greater harmony with our environment and one another. Our treasured Land of 10,000 Lakes can be better than ever if we make smart decisions.
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| The path to smart growth isn't always clear, and here at Landof.org we like to pose questions and topics that lead to thoughtful discussions. Here are explanations of ongoing conversations. We hope you'll join in.
Topic 1 What Does Minnesota Look Like in 50 Years?
How should central cities approach redevelopment within compact spaces? How can open spaces and natural areas be preserved? The future is unpredictable—or is it? Looking at current trends and the latest census and demographic data, will the future follow a similar course or bring something new? Landof.org presented this topic at the 15th Annual Minnesota Development Conference. Review our presentation slides and handouts and follow our blog for trends. Let us know what you think Minnesota will look like in 50 years. Leave your comments on our blog or email editor@landof.org with a response. All appropriate responses will be posted on the blog.
Weigh In on our BlogBig Boxes in Cities »
Topic 2 Is the Metropolitan Council Equipped to Guide the Next 50 Years?
One side says the Met Council seems unwilling or unable to encourage the necessary growth shift back toward the center and instead, at the expense of central cities and developed suburbs, the council continues to emphasize development at the metro edge. This decentralized growth hollows the core and damages the metro region’s competitive edge. The other side says the Met Council lacks the authority to influence development patterns. Growth patterns are influenced by land prices, market forces and demographic patterns that are beyond the Met Council’s authority. The best that can be done is to encourage more compact nodes on the metro edge. As for the central cities and inner suburbs, they’re doing just fine. What’s the solution? Is the Met Council effective in leading Minnesota’s development? Should the council be redesigned? Or should it be eliminated completely? Follow the links for more information and opinions on the matter. Also check out the report, Planning to Succeed, from Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Transit for Livable Communities and Surface Transportation Policy Partnership. The report looks at current conditions and gives recommendations for how to make the Met Council more effective. Leave your comments on our blog or email editor@landof.org with a 200- to 400- word response. All appropriate responses will be posted to the blog.
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Weigh In on our BlogResponse from John Bailey »
Topic 3 Kotkin vs. Florida
How will the current “great recession” affect city-building? Commentators Richard Florida and Joel Kotkin offer contrasting views. Who’s right about America’s metropolitan future? Read Florida's book, The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Properity. Florida foresees a prolonged economic slump that will impose major changes on American lifestyles and, consequently, significant changes in how future communities are designed. Then check out Kotkin's view from his book, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. He disagrees with Florida, and predicts denser suburbs in future years with a greater mix of housing, shopping and jobs. But he sees fewer drastic changes in lifestyles and habits. Cities will continue to grow less upward than outward in a form he calls “the archipelago of villages,” with the suburban lifestyle, with its emphasis on driving, continuing to prevail. The question is important as policy-makers and planners scramble to position cities and states for recovery while adjusting to sweeping changes ahead in demographics, energy and the environment. LandOf.org wants to know what you think. Weigh in. Who’s right about America’s metropolitan future? Which future—Florida’s or Kotkin’s—should Minnesota prepare for? Email editor@landof.org or leave your comments on our blog. Weigh In on our BlogCan Cities Give Gen Y What They Need? »
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