Sustainability : Featured Stories

The message of this year's Rail~Volution conference in the Twin Cities was clear: To attract and retain top talent in the coming decades, cities must meet Millennials' preferences for effective transit options.

Two years ago, Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer sold their car and plunged into the Twin Cities’ rich network of public and alternative modes of transportation, which led to a healthier lifestyle and innovating the Friendly Streets Initiative.  

"What's next for your city?" That the question Urban Innovation Exchange (UIX) will explore at its first national convening this September 24-26, 2014 in Detroit.

The Twin Cities is emerging as a hotbed of innovative agricultural activity. An ambitious group of producers and retailers aims to redefine what it means to be local, and give retaurants and consumers more control over what they eat and drink.

Is life better without a car? For Patricia Blakely, of Minneapolis, the answer is a resounding “yes!” In her book Carfree Living: Happy in the Not So Fast Lane, and this article, she outlines five simple steps to going car free.

CoCo's coworking spaces, NiceRide's ubiquitous bikes and incubator kitchens were just the beginning. The sharing economy storming the Twin Cities also includes a burgeoning ridesharing (or carsharing) phenomenon.

After decades of population loss, many cities are now growing faster than the rest of their metro areas. Urban living is now the new normal. What amenities are necessary to sustain a dense and vibrant city? The answers might surprise you.

A sneak peek at the solar initiatives of a Twin Cities homeowner, nonprofit and entrepreneurial restaurant/farm featured during the EcoMetro Sustainable Living Tour on May 31 sponsored by the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

While it's true that climate has an influence on the extent of nonmotorized transportation from place to place, it's probably not the way you assume. Across the nation, cold-weather locales like ours are nearly indistinguishable from the rest.

New studies, national honors, and expanding facilities for two-wheel mobility all reflect sturdy growth of this economical, healthful, environmentally sound, and social-fabric-friendly way of getting around.

The Line buzzed in 2013 with articles—many of them in the top 10 most-read of the year—on topics starting with a “b”: beer and architect-designed breweries, beekeeping and bike entrepreneurs among them.

The burgeoning winter-biking scene wouldn’t be possible without the bike designers, entrepreneurs, co-ops, fests, expos, zines, and coffee shops that give the community its innovative edge and vitality.

The Northeast Investment Cooperative is a for-profit group that enables people to collectively buy, renovate, and manage commercial and residential property. NEIC's first project is reinvigorating Central Avenue with tenants that focus on bikes, bread, and beer.

Heather and John McDougall, who are siblings, have designed the bamboo Bogobrush, a "buy one, give one" product that provides toothbrushes to people in need.