Cities 07

I have two main objectives. One aims to inform citizens on the current transitions in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. The other is to incorporate urban academics’ theory (to the best of my knowledge) for a working democracy.
The economic prosperity in Minneapolis and St. Paul has tagged us one of the “the most livable” cities in the nation. How did Mpls/St. Paul earn the merit of this title? How is the community working together to preserve it? Those will be my central questions as I do my best to properly depict urban scholar’s view for a healthy society. I feel that before we get too egotistical on how sustainable out city is we ought to do a reality check on transformations that may jeopardize our title. My goal is to investigate current economic activities in the Twin Cities and relate the activities to Wright, Calderia, Wilson and Wheeler’s urban critiques. By applying present social transformations in the Twin Cities to ideologies we can set greater standards to maintain a healthy society.
In order to uphold a sustainable idealistic environment in the Twin Cities, it’s crucial to be mindful of growth trends that could fog this urban success. Some current transformation of the city include; strength in the economy (emphasis on local Fortune 500 companies), extreme condominium craze, boom in the hotel industry and controversial debates for additional public transportations. The Twin Cities is also trying to accommodate an ever-growing population of immigrants who come from all SES backgrounds. My research in progress is, to use pertinent knowledge on social restructuring and compare the information with transformations in the Twin Cities. The goal here is to maintain the title as being the most “livable metro environment.” I intend to compare classic urban concerns and contrast the information in the metro area with flexible views. In the event someone is more knowledgeable on a particular reading or topic, I welcome critique. The intention here is to acknowledge that we have a relatively strong society and to collectively integrate factors that may empower or alienate our metropolitan stability.
The reason I’m springing ideas from; Frank Lloyd Wright because he’ll add a dreamy start for a city filled with independence that practices democracy. Teresa Caldeira based on her progressive hypothesis that spot red flags to class inequalities. William Julius Wilson so I can familiarize myself with the causes and effects of intergenerational poverty found in North Mpls and East St. Paul neighborhoods. Stephan Wheeler’s thoughts will be most useful because he sounds as though he holds the secret recipe for absolute urban utopia. The bottom line here is, who told us we live in a sustainable city and why? And if we are so dang affluent, why does poverty skirt the metro area? Instead of obsessing about social inequalities (as I normally do because I’m broke) I’d like to engineer methods on how to maintain a strong, healthy, vital society. Because whether or not our title is true, everyone in the Twin Cities deserves comfort if our society is bragging about being the “best.” (Especially in our competitive culture) Oh, and my other goal for this project is to not sound like a cheerleader for freedom, rather an advocate towards respecting diversity.

My primary sources will be our class text and local magazines/newspaper literature.