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Urban Neighborhoods
These are older areas within major cities that are separated from the central core. They have an urban flavor and relatively high density. Depending on their economic condition, they can be the most idyllic or the most hostile of urban environments.
Characteristics
- Buildings tend to be four stories or less and set close together, although residential towers are also common
- Shops and businesses often occupy lower floors with offices and residential units above
- Setbacks are zero to 20 feet
- Sidewalks aren’t as wide as in downtown
- These neighborhoods contain a mix of apartment, attached and single-family homes
- Rear alleys are common
- Businesses cater to local residents
- In Minnesota, these urban neighborhoods were most often built between the late 19th and mid 20th centuries
- Parking is both in structures and surface lots
- Thoroughfares include wide arteries and narrow residential streets
- Transit service is frequent (Often you can detect the remnants of old streetcar lines and the neighborhood businesses that grew up around them)
Examples
- These neighborhoods are abundant in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth
- Some are affluent, like the Grand Avenue corridor in St. Paul or 50th and France on the Minneapolis/Edina line
- Some cater to the young and hip, like Uptown in Minneapolis
- Others are family-oriented, like Linden Hills in Minneapolis or Highland Park in St. Paul
- Many are impoverished and struggling, like Payne Avenue in St. Paul or West Broadway in Minneapolis
Challenges Facing Urban Neighborhoods
- Problems in these neighborhoods most often depend on the economic conditions of residents
- In leafy sections of southwest Minneapolis, water quality in the lakes or lack of parking in busy commercial nodes pass for problems
- In hard-pressed areas, the challenges are many, including boarded-up businesses, desolate-looking streets and unkempt parks and play grounds
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