Ben Shardlow

A tramp ship, as the name suggests, doesn’t have a schedule. They’re the taxis of maritime trade. And you can still get a berth on one from Duluth or Thunder Bay across the Atlantic. It’ll set you back about $6k, and take about two months, and it’s not easily discernible how to know when you’d embark, and you wouldn’t know whether you’re going to Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Norway, Poland or Russia. 

southtwelfth:

One of my favorite pieces of anything I read last year was Dan Sinker’s extended, real-time novella of fake @MayorEmanuel tweets. It was great for many reasons, but principally because it started as a not-that-funny one-off joke (Rahm Emanuel likes to say “fuck”), and then, once it had captured…

Twelve individuals and businesses — ranging from artists and performance groups to a barbershop, a fashion designer, and a design center — were awarded up to $10,000 to occupy a physical location downtown. Paull helped broker deals with landlords for street-level space varying in size from 600 to 8,000 square feet, and with leases ranging from two months to three years. The Downtown Partnership also gave grantees business advice on how to scale their ideas to a physical space. The program not only fills empty storefronts, enlivening the street, it also allows people to incubate an idea on a short-term basis with the goal of building a business long-term.

What natural functions do storefronts perform in a city?

I’m studying ecology and urban design at the same time, and I’m looking for parallels. This isn’t unique - Jane Jacobs offered an ecological view of how cities work 40 years ago. I’m finally reading The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and her basic point is that urban planners don’t understand the natural functions spaces in cities perform. For example, building set back from the street to buffer those in them from strangers actually make everyone less safe because that means fewer eyes on the street and more isolation.

In restoration ecology, natural function is a central concept. In a degraded landscape, how do you reestablish how things used to work? For example, more rainwater used to infiltrate into the ground before the trees were cut down, now there’s erosion. Let’s plant trees.

Light rail and road construction on University Avenue is a disturbance. The dynamic between merchants and customers changes when it’s harder for them to connect. Naturally, there are now fewer stores open, and they look less inviting with vacant spaces around them. If it’s good that those vacant spaces get filled, how?

If you’ve gotten this far, and you’ve suspected that this is all lead-up to me saying that this new project we’re working on is the answer, and awesome - no. But I’m convinced the answer is related to the insight that planners often script things too much. There are hundreds of vacant storefronts in Baltimore, no one seems to want them… let’s pay people to occupy them. How much spaces can we control with this grant? Six? Six storefronts. Okay, let’s take applications and decide who should get the money. By what criteria? Well, let’s make something up. There, that oughta do it.

Maybe that’s the best approach, I honestly don’t know. But it seems to me that the real raw material you’re dealing with is people who think their idea could work. I think it’s generally goofy to get in their way. Vacant storefront project models that include a heavy gatekeeper kind of weird me out. As does the theory that the source of a new storefront tenant should be community input. New storefront ventures are assertions. I think one of the natural functions of storefronts is to let people try things out. What’s the simplest way to facilitate that?

Vacant storefronts are opportunities.

www.starlingproject.com

Press release

I’m all for the Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Development Partnership. I buy the idea that metro areas are the right unit for economic competition, and our collective brand could use some sprucing up. I think this video is good. But there are some interesting choices here. 

0:00 - Outsiders think that MN is flyover country? Let’s start with a rapturous shot of a cornfield. 

0:16 - After a farmstead out of context, a sailboat out of context.

0:22 - Until… the reveal! There are many sailboats here. You will not be alone in your sailboat.

0:33 - But! You will have to watch out for trains as you cross the tracks to reach the marina. Just trying to set expectations nice and low here. Don’t worry, the train goes very, very… slowly.

0:41 - Maybe you don’t think cornfields when you think MN, maybe you think forest. We got them, too.

0:43 - Sike! Cul de sacs! With big houses and… EVEN SWIMMING POOLS.

0:59 - Bicycling Magazine said that about Minneapolis, not the region, but, whatever, go ahead. Sit back and enjoy the variety of buildings we put near water.

1:16 - Self-evidently amazing statistic. Do executives care if a lot of other (regular) people golf? If I was an executive, I would not - stay off my course.

1:23 - Do you like to sail? Just checking again. No? How about tugboats?

1:36 - BAM! Enough of that sissy nature stuff, SKYLINE! Progress! Another skyline! Same one? Obligatory light rail shot. Highway interchange! Have they figured out connecting highways where you live? We have…

1:54 - Stereotypical bland suburban subdivision, and… ballfields in slight drought conditions. Garrison Keillor? Whoa there, comrade. Public school? I’m rich!

2:06 - My favorite shot. Are you Catholic? Wanna see that steeple… from ABOVE? We have a helicopter!

2:10 - How about the Como Zoo for less than a second? Maybe they could tell it’s a zoo if some shots weren’t taken from this one altitude.

2:15 - Suburban corporate headquarters, check. Dramatic reveal of Lake Calhoun marina into skyline, check. 

2:33 - It’s tricky to shoot this much footage of downtown Minneapolis from above without acknowledging the Metrodome.

2:39 - I guess when you shoot the MOA, you should focus on the parking lot, but I can’t say it feels right.

2:44 - Have you ever seen an amusement park… NEXT TO A RIVER?

2:55 - Did that river seem small to you? Don’t worry, we got em big, too. Isn’t that statistic about Minnesota overall? Nevermind!

3:03 - St Thomas shown before the U - huh. We’re still guessing you’re Catholic!

3:24 - You will not hear a sarcastic peep out of me about this 1st stunt - I’d do it, too. Cymbal crash to boot.

3:40 - A much better shot of the Mall.

3:54 - 4:20 - Over 25 seconds of skyscraper close-ups - I feel uncomfortable. Do we think you’re from Saskatoon?

4:26 - Prosperity happens here… because of the State Capitol? That doesn’t feel true, exactly. I read the paper. And is that slogan grammatically correct? Huh. I thought and think that Minnesota is too cold, but apparently there’s no snow.

weworkhere:

WORKS PROGRESS, an artist-led public design studio based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, seeks a PART TIME PROJECT ASSISTANT

This is an opportunity for an emerging cultural producer to assist a rapidly growing organization with large and small-scale public projects. The Works Progress (WP) Project Assistant will work directly with WP Co-Directors, as well as with project partners from diverse fields and backgrounds. This position requires outstanding communication skills, flexibility and independence, creative and critical thinking skills, confidence, and curiosity. This is an excellent opportunity for hands-on learning, teaching, and creative networking. Your weekly work schedule will be flexible, but some in-state travel with WP will be required.

Because of the commitment required for this position, we are not accepting applications from full-time students. Expanded Works Progress volunteer opportunities will be posted soon.

Qualified candidates will have experience creating or facilitating public art and/or design projects, public programs, or comparable creative activities; demonstrated communication skills; familiarity with online social and productivity platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Vimeo, and Google Docs); as well as an interest in public engagement and social issues. Graphic design and/or basic video production experience is a plus. We are looking to hire an individual with diverse life and work experience, and a unique perspective that is divergent from our own.

Compensation is $10 to $15 per hour, depending on experience, with a minimum of 10 to 20 hours per week; with an opportunity for more involvement and project-based work in the coming year.

Learn more about Works Progress on our website, see how we communicate on Twitter, check out our projects on Flickr, and explore our growing community on Facebook.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and your resume to Colin and Shanai at hello [at] worksprogress [dot] org on or before November 7th, 2011.

The start date is December 5th, 2011. Please help us spread the word about this great opportunity!

Hear Ye!

American Luuxry

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for St Paul, 1903

Prompted by buchino, image from U of MN digital collection (password protected)

In some parts of the U.S.—like New York City—public transportation can serve your every need. That’s not true is many other areas, where a car is necessary to get around efficiently. But while the majority of Americans have access either to a vehicle or to public transit, there are plenty of people who have neither. If public transit is going to work as a viable alternative to cars, it needs to better serve these people.

A new Brookings Institute report that looks at transit access and zero-vehicle households comes up with some surprising findings: 700,000 zero-vehicle households in the 100 biggest metro areas in the U.S. lack any access to public transportation, and 7.5 million households in those metro areas don’t have access to a private vehicle (though they can reach public transit options). (Fast Company)

The decentralization of job centers is the worst thing that happened in the 20th century that rarely gets mentioned. Expecting transit service to work without density is unrealistic. We need to get back to clustering industries. Transit service has been starved somewhat, true, but we can’t just run more transit routes and solve everything - the problem is that the way we’ve used land over the past five decades gave little consideration to efficient transit service. We’re too spread out, and transit service needs to be efficient in order to be politically sustainable. Right?

Red River Traders encamped on St. Anthony Hill in 1858 (MNHS)

We’re buying a house in just over two weeks, and the location is a real conundrum. The area that’s now Desnoyer Park in St Paul was recognized as the midpoint between Minneapolis and St Paul since before both existed. In 1839, an enterprising Canadian Scotsman named Donald McDonald built a tavern, the “Halfway House”, for travelers between Fort Snelling and St Anthony Falls, and those on the oxcart trail to the Red River Valley. Soldiers routinely jumped the fort’s walls to come get drunk.

In the late 19th century, when people realized that two rival cities might not be the best idea, they rallied around the idea of combining them into the melodiously named Federal City - centered at the midpoint along the river in Merriam and Desnoyer Parks. Governor Merriam donated 20 acres to build the State Capitol there, and Archbishop John Ireland thought about building the Cathedral there.

That didn’t happen, and - skipping ahead - what’s the result? One of the most central neighborhoods in the Cities has 600 houses and… two businesses. A radio station owned by MPR and a golf course (“the second oldest continuously operated golf course in the country” - my!). Almost all of its roads are crooked because - as the other nearby neighborhoods in St Paul were planned by professional engineers - it seems like the powers-that-be overthought the possibilities and left people to their own devices, so they built houses. And then a neighborhood association took shape to keep anything but houses out.

So, now the Shardlows are moving in. We’ll form the pro-mixed-use wing of the Desnoyer Park Improvement Association immediately and start instigating for a new Halfway House.

weworkhere:

A year and a half of Give & Take in 90 seconds.

Big thanks to Andy Dayton for doing all the videography and production on this!

When I was a kid, we spent several nights a summer on the John Theodore D, a Sternwheel Riverboat my dad’s business partner built and stored at the Harriet Island Marina. I can remember being very young, three or four, and Howard giving me a captain’s hat, sitting me behind the wheel, and teaching me to steer. The tendency to overcorrect is strong, he said, so you need to focus on a point far away. 

I was too young to understand what drunk was, I just knew that everyone on the boat was always in an incredibly good mood. I was, too, because there was an unattended bar soda gun. I mixed all the flavors together and refilled and refilled and got a sugar rush that lasted the whole trip. 

I was amazed that we drove 15 minutes and entered a landscape that was seemed totally wild and foreign, and that the real captain had built this boat himself. I’d later learn that he also planned an amazing number of the communities around the metro, even designing a subway system for the Twin Cities that passed the legislature in the ’60s before being killed in committee.

That’s all a very long prologue to saying that I’m thrilled that we have Captain Bob Deck of the Jonathan Padelford, another boat from the same marina, presenting tonight at Give & Take // Lowertown. He’s been on the river since the ’70s - incredible. The rest of the line-up (Wren on vanity plates, Stacy Becker on online dating) is equally good, I just have a soft spot for riverboat captainry.

First photo credit, second photo credit

Fast Company

This question will come off a bit ICP-ish. Could all of the force of cars driving on highways be captured as energy - by some kind of membrane? How about really heavy, stationary objects, like houses? Can you capture that gravitational force and use that as energy? 

I haven’t taken a science course since high school, and I’ve never goofed off more than during physics - be gentle.

NPR: The Key To Disaster Survival? Friends And Neighbors

This is why we do Give & Take.

(via weworkhere)

As Give & Take wound down last night, a friend’s assessment was that it had a lot of great moments. I think that’s right. When you design an event to be spontaneous, you’re trading consistency for lulls and moments of genuine surprise. Here were my favorite moments from last night:

• Ishmael Israel from NRRC’s introduction, explaining that this was the first celebratory event on the Northside since the tornado, pointing out that the intersection right outside was all over the media coverage of the aftermath.
• Just the experience of having what amounts to a party in a vacant storefront. Catalyst has a beautiful space, and we felt lucky to be there. 
• I thought it would be funny to start off with the call and response thing where you go, “When I say [A], you say [B], [A],” “B!”, “[A],” “B!”, but in a monotone. An allusion to being a white host of an event in a mostly black neighborhood? That, too. So I did it with Give/Take, and North/Side, and I definitely embarassed myself for the sake of the joke, but it got everyone involved right from the get-go, so I’ll take it.
• Having Big Sy, the morning DJ for KMOJ, wander downstairs from the station and do a flash presentation about his story and KMOJ’s history.
• The Q&A following Mary deLaittre’s presentation on the Mississippi Riverfront Redesign Competition - she had to go very quickly over their plans, and the questions got right to the heart of people’s concerns. Yeah, you want to build a bridge/park connecting the Northside with the river, but are you going to knock down people’s homes? You say you want to build a remembrance to Spirit Island, the sacred Dakota site in the river that was demolished, but have you been talking with actual Dakota people? The answers she was able to give were heartening, and the questions were telling about how community members are used to being treated.
• A moment during TAG, the game where we go around the room connecting people based on what they know and want to know, when I felt a little twinge of panic because people were talking in this unrushed, conversational way to the whole crowd, and I worried it was getting boring, wasn’t entertaining enough. But I looked around and people were smiling - it was exactly like ~80 people (strangers an hour earlier) hanging out.
• Akilla, a six-year-old girl, approaching me to see if she could perform a dance and a song after intermission. I ask the crowd if they’re into it, they are, she does her thing and finishes with saying, “Are there any questions?”
• Crowdsourcing a Flash presentation, we see what people in the crowd know, people want to hear Bruce talk about brains, he says he can’t possible cover it in 3 minutes, people start chanting “Brains! Brains! Brains!” He riffs on questions about neuroscience, covering memory, drugs, fame, and disorders. No minds appear unblown.
• Lynette Coleman, a Northside entrepreneur who’s starting a pie business called The Pie Nettework, tells her story about baking pies to trick her picky son into eating vegetables. Her sons take questions, are charming. The crowd eats up the whole thing. She serves pecan pie, apple crisp, and sweet potato pie after the show.
• I’ll own up to being wary about performances at the event by artists I haven’t seen before. I’m consistently proven wrong. The Cottman family, Bill, Beverly, and Kenna, close the night with a dance and spoken word piece about who they are, and being from North Mpls. Joy and pain, direct expression, pride. All of us can see life going on along Broadway and Penn behind them as the sun sets. 
• Several people come up to me afterwards, bursting with energy, asking if we ever need volunteers, if we’re having more of these maybe they could host one, I get it now can I be a part of it? I get to reflect their energy back to them and say yes.

It was the closest we’ve come to what we’re after, the best of the 18 so far - thanks, everyone.

Photo credit: @RyanSiemers

Give & Take // North Mpls is tonight.