Downtown/Lowertown : Featured Stories

Gil Penalosa—former Parks Commissioner in Bogota, Colombia, and now president of the 8-80 Cities think tank—toured the Twin Cities speaking at 17 events from the East Side to Wayzata as part of the Third Annual Placemaking Residency.

Welcome to a new series on Twin Cities' residents who live car-free by walking, bicycling and using Metro Transit. Ali Lozoff: "If I can navigate this city all hours of the day and night on a bus, then anyone can do it.”

Since the passage of the Surly Bill 2012, craft-beer entrepreneurs have rapidly opened breweries with taprooms in neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. All are doing their part to turn neighborhoods into top-of-mind destinations.

The second in our series on Twin Cities artists who build community: Amanda Lovelee, a St. Paul City Artist in Residence, uses big tables, wildflowers, square dancing and love stories to convert people to the power of interpersonal connection through public art.

The Central Corridor is becoming the Twin Cities' new cultural hotspot showcasing local diversity, bringing communities closer together, and boosting economic opportunities.

Rewire is ambitious “cross-platform” initiative innovated by TPT to speak directly to Millennials—and bridge and reinvigorate TPT’s programming.

Issue Media Group (The Line's parent company) has launched Creative Exchange, a national online platform for storytelling and resource sharing around creativity and community. Saint Paul artist/organizer Oskar Ly was featured in the first issue.

The Green Line sets the stage for a full regional transit network unlike anything we've seen since the heyday of the streetcars.

How key non-profits have forged partnerships with healthcare institutions along the Green Line to generate corridors of opportunity for job seekers, residents, and communities.

Smart cities like Saint Paul are renovating their train stations (like the multi-modal hub Union Depot) into neighborhood and urban amenities.

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.

The Makers Coalition is supporting a new generation of industrial sewers and the local makers movement. The coalition brings together 60 businesses, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and service providers to fulfill its mission: To bring back industrial sewing skills, which largely disappeared in America decades ago.

Public art has evolved into an essential element of urban placemaking and social engagement. From murals on vacant buidlings to art in laundormats to temporary art installations that invite public participation, we take a look at public art and how it's changing cities.