Sustainability : Buzz

A new study puts Minneapolis-St. Paul into a list of the five top cities for women residents.
 
The research was done as part of a project, "Measure of America," from the Social Science Research Council. The study compared factors such as differences in women's education levels, marital status, life expectancy, and earnings.
 
Washington, D.C., earned the highest ranking, with San Francisco, Boston, and New York City rounding out the top five.

Readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have picked Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as the best in the nation.
 
In its first airport survey, the magazine asked readers to rank 22 airports based on categories like food and drink, check-in, security, service, location, and design. The results were published in Travel + Leisure's April issue.
 
The Twin Cities airport was called the "cheeriest and most welcoming" airport in the country, nabbing the top spot thanks to its easy check-in and efficient security process.
 
"T+L voters loved the shopping and food and drink options at this mini-mall of an airport, and when it came to ease of check-in and security, Minneapolis also took the No. 1 spot," the article noted.
 
New York's La Guardia was ranked as the worst on the list, preceded by LAX.

Growing fresh food in Minneapolis and selling those veggies will become easier, thanks to recent amendments to the city's zoning code.
 
Minneapolis already allows community gardens, and has rules that allow residents to keep chickens, but there has been a contentious debate over proposed changes to market gardens. Some members of the City Council weren't particularly supportive of measures to expand urban farming in the city, but the amendments ended up passing anyway.
 
A story from Minnesota Public Radio reports that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak--a longtime supporter of urban farming proposals--signed the changes into law at the Dowling Community Garden at Dowling Urban Environmental School.

If you're feeling relaxed, chances are that you're in Minneapolis.
 
The city was ranked as the least stressful in a study done by Sperling's BestPlaces, a research firm specializing in livability rankings.
 
The firm recently released its study of cities that are the most and the least stressful, compiled by looking at factors associated with stress, including divorce, crime, long commutes, suicide, and joblessness.
 
Tampa earned the most stressful rating, followed closely by other Florida cities: Miami, Jacksonville, and Orlando. Las Vegas, Detroit, and Sacramento also landed in the top 10 for stress.
 
For least stressful, Minneapolis was joined in the top rankings by San Jose, Pittsburgh, Virginia Beach, Dallas, and Cleveland.

The Republic, a newspaper out of Columbus, Indiana, recently reported on the University of Minnesota's meat lab, which teaches students to harvest, cut, package, and sell locally raised meat.
 
"It's part animal science, part age-old craft," the article noted. Founded in 1901, the meat lab was the first program of its kind in the nation.
 
Faculty adviser Dr. Ryan Cox added that the all-around butcher doesn't seem to exist anymore, and the meat lab's intent is to give students that more traditional view of the meat industry.
 
One student stated that thanks to the program he knows all the steps in the process, from raising a newborn calf all the way to selling the meat in a store. He says, "It just gives you a better idea where that meat is going and how it's used."

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis recently announced its June 30 grand reopening with the addition of the Nelson Cultural Center.

The expansion and other campus enhancements will get a visit from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia in October. During their Minnesota trip, the king and queen will also go to the Swedish-founded Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, which will be celebrating its 150th anniversary.

“The Nelson Cultural Center’s innovative design and handcrafted, Swedish-inspired detailing embrace Nordic values--including respect for nature and quality materials, as well as for the environment, through energy conservation and sustainable building practices,” the statement from the American Swedish Institute reads.  

Food and lifestyle site Organic Authority has named Minneapolis one of the top nine cities for residents who embrace organic food.
 
Following cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, the Minneapolis area came in sixth on the list, ahead of San Diego, Denver, and Austin.
 
"[A] little ice and snow hasn't stopped the progression of organic food in Minnesota," the site noted. "Swing on by the booming co-op, The Wedge, or sign up for a CSA from a local organic farm for a year-long bounty of organic goodness."

Recently the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released a list of the top 10 states for green building through the internationally recognized LEED standards.

The results are based on U.S. Census data from last year.

Minnesota rounds out the list that’s topped by the District of Columbia.  

The LEED Platinum Marquette Plaza in Minneapolis is named in a prepared statement about the list.

Fitness magazine Women's Health took a look at top cities for health and happiness, and recognized Minneapolis as one of the top 10 cities for women.
 
The city has the fourth-highest number of female joggers, as well as one of the lowest breast cancer death rates, the article noted. Women's Health praised the number of lakes and paved shoreline paths in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, since that amount of recreation space makes it easier for women to increase their fitness levels.
 
"Preliminary research suggests that women who are physically active may have a 30 to 40 percent lower chance of developing breast cancer," says Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, an oncologist at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in the article. 

The Huffington Post recently featured a story by local writer Jay Walljasper titled, “How to Boost Biking and Walking in Your Town: Lessons From Minneapolis.”  

Walljasper cites numerous reports that show Minneapolis has become a top biking city.

He attributes it in part to various street improvements “including more bike lanes and special bicycle-and-pedestrian boulevards -- installed around town in the past year as part of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Project.”

Joan Pasiuk, who heads Bike Walk Twin Cities, is quoted, saying, "The goal of this project from Congress was to shift some trips, and this data shows it is happening," adding, "The implications for overall health and transportation access are outcomes the community will realize from the numbers we're reporting."

Getting accurate bike and pedestrian counts is critical in terms of influencing transportation policies, according to Pasiuk.

In terms of stormwater management, Minneapolis is "doing interesting, innovative projects that warrant recognition," according to a report titled “Rooftop to Rivers II” from the Natural Resources Defense Council, summarized in MinnPost.

The report centers on 14 case studies that demonstrate how U.S. cities are working to reduce the pollution from runoff into lakes and rivers.

Although Minneapolis isn't one of those featured case studies, one part of the report describes the city’s stormwater management practices, including the use of rain gardens, ponds/wetlands, underground filtration, green roofs and more.

And, North Minneapolis’s Heritage Park “illustrates how green infrastructure can be implemented on a large-scale to transform communities,” the report states.

In MinnPost, Ron Meador responds, "The challenges and opportunities [the report] discusses are the same ones shaping the future of water quality and pollution control across our state."

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. prompted discussion about aquaculture practices by recently promising it will sell only sustainable, traceable fish by 2015.
 
As noted in the Los Angeles Times and other publications, the company stopped selling farmed salmon, Chilean sea bass and orange roughy in 2010, due to sustainability issues. It currently sells about 50 types of fish that are certified by either the Marine Stewardship Council or the Global Aquaculture Alliance.
 
To meet its 2015 goal, Target is partnering with nonprofit marine conservation group FishWise, which will assess all of the company's seafood products.
 
 

The Miami Herald recently published a piece by local writer Jay Walljasper, titled, "The surprising rise of Minneapolis as a top bike town." (The article was excerpted in last week's The Line.)

When the city was named by Bicycle magazine as the best place for biking nationwide, "Shock that a place in the heartland could outperform cities on the coasts was matched by widespread disbelief that biking was even possible in a state famous for its ferocious winters."

Wallsjasper provides plenty of reasons why Minneapolis has earned this distinction, including the sheer number of bicyclists, many whom brave the winter temperatures.

Walljasper writes: "'Places famous for biking like Copenhagen and even Portland feel very far away,' remarked Jeff Stephens, Executive Director of the Columbus advocacy organization Consider Biking, who came to Minneapolis looking for ideas he could apply back home. 'It was exciting to see what they've accomplished in Minneapolis, which is a city that seems a lot like Columbus.'"

The American Planning Association (APA) put St. Paul's Rice Park in downtown St. Paul on its 2011 list of 10 Great Public Spaces across the country. 

Through the APA’s Great Places in America program, sites such as the historic park are recognized for “exceptional character and highlight the role planners play in creating communities of lasting value,” according to a press release about the award.   

The park, which is characterized by decorative lamps, statuary, benches, and a central fountain, “serves as much as a pathway and shortcut as it does a lunch stop, festival grounds, and outdoor sanctuary,” the release says.
 
The 1849-vintage park is also surrounded by a number of historic buildings, museums, and music halls that developed over the course of more than a century.  

A video on the Urban Velo website highlights the benefits of the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, as a part of its biking system.

The clip starts out with comments from the city’s mayor, R.T. Rybak, who says, “Biking is a huge part of what we are.”

Several other speakers in the video chime in about how the city’s biking trails that weave around such natural amenities as the Chain of Lakes and the once-industrial Midtown Greenway have helped to draw bicyclists and homeowners. It’s also brought more business to the area, the video shows.