A Delft clad power plant:

http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-dutch-power-plant-clad-in-delftware-tiles/dutchpower-ed01/

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286

MRDI newsletter 2

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8f28a5378a049a5ba0df72966&id=a3a09c7511&e=e373e0b719

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286

Mexico city is trying to uncover its rivers – a wonderful article about exposing natural resources, creating community amenities and the challenges that lay ahead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/world/americas/01mexico.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=a%20vision%20of%20an%20oasis%20beneath%20the%20sprwal&st=cse

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286

> > Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. > > > MR|DI Issue 1 > 11 May 2011 > > > Reissued with corrected public meeting date > and sincere apologies! > > > Four days, seven meetings, one amazing river > The Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative launched with an > intensive four-day, seven-meeting spree, April 27-30, featuring the > MR|DI design team TLS/KVApresenting their RiverFIRST proposal. These > meetings were the first in a series of three multi-day information > exchange sessions, running April – July, during which the public and > Steering, Technical and Advisory committee members are invited to > participate in the MR|DI’s “iterative design process.” (And what is > that, exactly? See this blog post.) > > We are pleased that the committee meetings were productive, > informative and well-attended. (See committee minutes, audio/video, > or a list of attendees, via MR|DI’sCommunity Page) It’s a real > pleasure to be involved as so many divergent entities and > individuals coalesce around our mesmerizing Mississippi. > > Continuing to seek community input > The three two-hour public meetings were attended by folks equally > passionate about the river and our city, though many fewer of them. > (Find minutes and video links on our Community Page) Thank you to > those who made it out – through good weather and bad – and please > encourage your friends, neighbors, family members and colleagues to > join us in May and June. > > For many, it’s difficult to make a weeknight public meeting at the > Park Board. Beginning this month, representatives from the MR|DI > will be making regular visits to neighborhood and community meetings > and events for information giving and gathering. If your > organization would like us to stop in and we haven’t yet been in > touch with you, please send an email to Mary deLaittre, MR|DI > Project Manager. > > Come see us at the Great River Gathering, May 12! > The MR|DI will have a booth at the RiverWork exhibit this year. If > you’re one of the 1,000 or so Mississippi River enthusiasts > projected to attend by St. Paul Riverfront Corporation organizers, > stop by our booth to pick up a RiverFIRST map and project > description, view some of the recent TLS/KVA presentation, ask > questions or just say hello. > > Next committee and public meetings scheduled for Tue-Thur, May 24-26 > All meetings will be held at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation > Board, 2117 West River Road. > > Public Meeting – Wednesday, 25 May > 7:00 – 9:00 PM > Please plan on joining us! > > Tuesday, 24 May > Technical Committee – 2-4:00 PM > Advisory Committee – 5-7:00 PM > > Wednesday, 25 May > Steering Committee – 7:30-10:30 AM > > Our mailing address is: > Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative > c/o Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board > 2117 West River Road > Minneapolis MN 55411 > Copyright (C) 2011 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. All rights > reserved. > Sent to mary@groundworkcitybuilding.com: unsubscribe | update > profile | forward to a friend >

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286

Below is a link to an article by Steve Berg which is very timely as 2020 Partners prepares to discuss its workplan for 2011. The article is about regional economic development and touches on 3 valuable points that apply directly to the industrial district we are trying to transform:

1. Develop Green Manufacturing
2. Locate new jobs along transit corridors
3. The importance of identity in distinguishing a place and its opportunities

I hope to see you at the next meeting. Here’s the link:

http://www.minnpost.com/steveberg/2011/01/10/24723/minneapolis-st_paul_launches_a_new_job-growth_initiative_to_regain_its_momentum_–_and_its_identity

This is a brilliant article about Cities – from the perspective of a theoretical physicist. Read how this physicist has figured out how cities work, and given us the mathematical equations to support Jane Jacobs theories about the value of cities and their design. In the end cities aren’t buildings or infrastructure, but all about people, interaction, the free flow of information and collaboration!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

Cheers!

Our weather may be cold, but interest in MR|DC and the design teams is not. The four finalists visited Minneapolis this week, with planned activities that included a Monday evening meet-and-greet attended by more than 80 Twin Cities decision makers and a morning- long Designer Workshop on Tuesday. For the remainder of the visit – and several days before and after for various design team members – designers explored the riverfront and talked with the community.

The “Designer Ask” Survey will be released on Tuesday, December 7. The survey is called “Designer Ask” because it will comprise questions for the community from our four competing landscape and urban design teams, who explored the 220-acre project area and surrounding neighborhoods along the Upper Riverfront November 29-December 1. The survey will give the designers access to the knowledge the community has about the river and the surrounding neighborhoods. Completed surveys received by December 21 will be passed along to the design teams as part of their research. Responses will also be made available to the public. You’ll find the online survey on our website and printed copies will be available at allMinneapolis Park and Recreation Centers, beginning Tuesday.

Members of the community are invited to attend a Community Meeting, Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00 PM at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis. MR|DC Project Manager Mary deLaittre will update the community on the design competition, and along with representatives from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, will be on-hand to answer questions and facilitate feedback for the “Designer Ask” survey.

MinnPost – Cityscape: Metro Chicago’s planning aims high; the Twin Cities’, not so much http://www.minnpost.com/steveberg/2010/11/22/23578/metro_chicagos_planning_aims_high_the_twin_cities_not_so_much?utm_source=MinnPost+e-mail+newsletters&utm_campaign=27042ac7d0-11_22_2010_The_Latest_from_MinnPost_com11_22_2010&utm_medium=email

Next Generation of Parks Speaker Series: Wednesday, November 10 – Ed Uhlir, Millennium Park, Chicago 7 PM, McPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis (Free) The creation of Chicago’s Millennium Park, which opened in 2004, was a complex and difficult undertaking. Through an unprecedented public/ private partnership an extraordinary cultural venue was created by some of the best architects, landscape designers, and artists in the world.

Ed Uhlir will describe how the project design evolved over its six year gestation, how $220M was raised from the private sector and how the park and its programming have had an enormous economic and social impact on Chicago.

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286

Please see links below – the first article is on an innovative farmer’s market in Toronto, the second Steve Berg’s column about the impact of the elections on civic projects.

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2010/06/09/toronto-unveils-the-futuristic-farmers-market/

> MinnPost – Cityscape: If GOP keeps austerity promises, big metro > projects on rail, housing and research may be pared or eliminated > http://www.minnpost.com/steveberg/2010/11/04/23062/if_gop_keeps_austerity_promises_big_metro_projects_on_rail_housing_and_research_may_be_pared_or_eliminated?utm_source=MinnPost+e-mail+newsletters&utm_campaign=ddb430c805-11_04_2010_The_Latest_from_MinnPost_com11_4_2010&utm_medium=email

Mary deLaittre Groundwork groundworkcitybuilding.com 612.242.6286