All in Design

Ten Things I Learned From IMCL

Ten Things I Learned From IMCL

Stephanie Rouse
Design

The International Making Cities Livable Conference held their annual conference the first week in October in Santa Fe, New Mexico this year. Each year a new city is selected based on the innovate approaches that have been implemented by their local governments. Dozens of countries were represented at the conference this year despite political tension, immigration bans, and natural disasters that kept many from traveling. Despite the lower than usual attendance, the sessions were well rounded and provided a wealth of information on how to make our cities more livable.

The Airport City

The Airport City

Stephanie Rouse
Design

I recently flew from Minneapolis to Santa Fe, stopping over in the Denver airport. While waiting for my connecting flight I noticed something about the the airport that I had not seen before. Airports, those large enough to support multiple terminals, function like a city. Each one has restaurants, retail shops, transit (the train between terminals and moving walkways), separate lanes for faster moving traffic, and nodes of activity. The airport works like an ideal community, providing a safe environment for spontaneous interaction among the inhabitants.

Stars Hollow's Idealistic Town Square

Stars Hollow's Idealistic Town Square

Stephanie Rouse
Public Space, Design

In the TV show Girlmore Girls, the town square is the heart of the fictional city of Stars Hollow. I watched the whole series again in preparation for the release of the reunion season. What I noticed is the town square in the show functioned like the town squares of early American cities before cars took over and pushed everyone into the suburbs. What is so unique about the town square in Stars Hollow is that it brought the community together, it was the hub of spontaneous meetings, was surrounded by shops, restaurants and residential units, and was designed for pedestrians, not cars.

Complete Streets in Action

Complete Streets in Action

Stephanie Rouse
Design, Transportation

We have all driven, biked, or walked down a street that appeared wider than the traffic it served. Extra space proliferates within the area for vehicles while the pedestrian and bicyclist are forced onto a small, cracked sidewalk or into the street dodging parked cars. We constantly wonder why the road could not be redesigned to accommodate a better distribution of users. Some cities have begun to make a commitment to changing these conditions through a program called Complete Streets.

Lake Life

Lake Life

Stephanie Rouse
Design, Business and Economics

Growing up, my family and I made three nine hour trips each year to Perham, Minnesota. The first trip was always Memorial Weekend, followed by a week in June when Walleye fishing was good, then a two week family trip that included excursions to nearby attractions. I was the only one in my class that would vacation in the same place multiple times each year. Most of my friends when more normal vacation spots like visiting a grandparent in Texas or Mount Rushmore. 

Heights Theater: screening of Rear Window

Heights Theater: screening of Rear Window

Stephanie Rouse
Design, Neighborhoods, Policy

One of the gems of Columbia Heights is the 1926 Heights Theater, the longest continuously running theater in the Twin Cities metro (as stated during last weeks screening of Rear Window). The theater was designed as a neighborhood movie house for local talent during the explosion of neighborhood theater construction. After many years of unsympathetic alterations, it was purchased in November 1998 by Tom Letness and Dave Holmgren and restored to its former glory.

14 Miles: General Mills, Trains, Public Works, and the Mighty Mississippi

14 Miles: General Mills, Trains, Public Works, and the Mighty Mississippi

Stephanie Rouse
Design, Neighborhoods

My training schedule for the June Grandma's Marathon has me out on long runs every Saturday, giving me plenty of time to think and analyze my surroundings. I used to rely solely on headphones to help get me through the miles, but for safety reasons stopped using them when I ran with my dogs. Now I have dropped them altogether whether I am running with my dogs or not because I can connect with my surroundings better.

The City in 6 Miles

The City in 6 Miles

Stephanie Rouse
Architecture, Design, Transportation, Neighborhoods

I am a runner. It began as a way to stay in shape, but I have realized I can use my running to learn from cities. The past few years I moved often, following my career from one planning job to the next. I'm a Nebraska native, but moved to Lubbock, Texas, after finishing college. After a few years I moved to Rochester, Minnesota to be closer to home, but desiring an urban environment I now live in the Twin Cities metro. Each new city has taught me invaluable lessons about how they function and how regions differ.