Comments on: Innovating the Landscape from Ordnance to Ordinance in Minnesota http://www.globalsiteplans.com/environmental-design/innovating-the-landscape-from-ordnance-to-ordinance-in-minnesota/ Branding for Architecture, Engineering, Environmental Non-Profits, Landscape Architecture, & Urban Planning Companies Thu, 23 May 2013 16:11:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Ryan http://www.globalsiteplans.com/environmental-design/innovating-the-landscape-from-ordnance-to-ordinance-in-minnesota/comment-page-1/#comment-32086 Ryan Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:13:47 +0000 http://globalsiteplans.blogs.patsoffice.com/?p=13371#comment-32086 I think a larger question is: Can a site that is located on the absolute urban fringes of a metropolitan area, that is currently open space, farm land, and a mine, truly be sustainable if it is developed into housing for 25,000 people? It is estimated that all of those people could be housed along the Hiawatha Light Rail Line and the soon to be operating Central Corridor Light Rail Line. And if a little more room is desired, those people could certainly be housed within other parts of the core cities and/or inner-ring suburbs.

I think a project such as UMore is inherently unsustainable by the very nature of its development. And we still haven’t factored in the presumed increase in vehicle miles traveled as I’m sure that there will not be enough jobs nearby for people to walk/bike to, nor adequate transit service to provide alternative transportation for workers. And the circle of poor development decisions continue, as we can question if those investments are economically sound, when there is a greater concentration of people lacking adequate transportation options and service closer to employment centers and housing.

So, the site should be cleaned up, and then turned in to some sort of open space, expanded farm land, or reverted to nature. A better plan would be to allow for slow and incremental growth in a more truly sustainable fashion.

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