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Editor's note: This article is adapted from a version published Aug. 12, 2026, by the Center for Transportation Studies. By: Amy Goetzman, contributing writer for the Center for Transportation Studies Pedestrian injuries and fatalities have significant personal, societal, and financial impacts, making it crucial to identify effective strategies to improve pedestrian safety.

Emily Lee * August 12, 2026 Often discussions around urban planning and housing focus on what's to come and where we go from wherever we are now. But in the Twin Cities there's also a long history to understand and to repair. One of the projects doing some of that work is Mapping Prejudice- a project out of the libraries at the University of Minnesota aimed at identifying and mapping racial covenants in housing deeds.

In this series of stories, we'll explore local names-where do these names come from, why do they matter, and more. We often talk about what we do with "the land" but I think what we name the land has value too-and needs to be discussed further. In this first story we'll discuss Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School. Amelia Gutiérrez * August 11, 2026 Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School is a Minneapolis Public School located in North Minneapolis at 807 27th Avenue North.

Editor's note: This article is adapted from a version published July 17, 2026, by the Minnesota Women's Press. Mikki Morrissette * August 7, 2026 Public art was unveiled at a July 11 event at the new Wadaag Commons affordable housing community in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. A $500,000 investment was made in permanent public art that is integrated directly into the development as a defining element of the space.

Every day, The Overhead Wire collects national and international news about cities and sends the links to their email list. At the end of the week they post some of the most popular stories to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to Streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the D.C. region. Jeff Wood * August 4, 2026 Wildfire smoke and urban violence: New research suggests that wildfire smoke is contributing to a rise in violence on the days that the air is full of particulates.

Ian R Buck * August 3, 2026 Hear from some of our favorite advocacy organizations what happened at the 2026 Minnesota legislative session, and what we're carrying forward into next year! Links Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

Morgan Radick * July 31, 2026 I have always loved bike riding. For fun, for transportation, for exercise, it doesn't matter, I love all of it (except spin class). While as a child I relied on adult-navigated forms of transport in my day to day life-a bus, a taxi, my parents' car-it was during the summers that we spent in Florida where I experienced the unbridled joy and freedom that came from having access to and riding a bike.

Huong Dang * July 30, 2026 Arlington, VA At the not-so-wise age of twenty-one, I graduated college and moved to Arlington, VA for my first big girl job. There, I was introduced to recreational biking. Northern Virginia boasted an extensive trails system that connected where I lived to Washington D.C. and Maryland. A common past-time was to ride the trails for exercise.

Mel Bernstein * July 29, 2026 Lyndale Avenue South is up for reconstruction whether we like it or not. It's been almost a century since the road was fully rebuilt. The Hennepin County road serves thousands of commuters daily; it also serves as the heart of the Lyn-Lake, Wedge, and greater Uptown neighborhood(s). Advocacy groups, Vibrant Lyndale and Liveable Lyndale, have battled back and forth over the past few years on various designs that the Hennepin County design team has put forward.

Christina Neel * July 28, 2026 This year we are headed to Saint Paul for our annual late summer picnic on Saturday, August 8, 2026, held from noon to 3pm. Come meet other Streets.mn community members, contributors, Board members, podcast listeners, and perhaps some new friends. We are grilling entrees (meat and vegetarian options) and providing buns and condiments along with canned beverages. As usual, we encourage guests to bring a side or dessert to share.