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By robb, December 27, 2011 12:46 pm

Last summer, the CARE project team talked to over 700 people living, working, and visiting the Longfellow and Phillips area about the assets and issues facing the community. People we met at the farmers market, community events, libraries, places of worship, and other locations were eager to share their perceptions of the area.

We found that the community’s primary assets are its people, its diversity and its sense of community. People also value the area’s proximity to many destinations — including parks, restaurants, shops, and downtown — and the ability to bike, drive, walk, and use transit to get places. Primary issues that impact the community include access to food, air quality, safety, traffic, and water quality.

We received 100’s of comments on assets and issues in the community – far too many to list out. One helpful way to present a large amount of information is through word clouds. This technique provides a visual depiction of how often people use different words to describe their community — with the size of the word representing its frequency of use.  The two word clouds below depict community members’ comments on community assets and environmental and health issues:

1.  Community Assets in Longfellow and Phillips

2.  Environmental and Health Concerns in Longfellow and Phillips

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By robb, November 9, 2011 7:03 am

The County Board adopted the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works Strategic Investment Framework, which will coordinate the multiple jurisdictions involved with the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works Capital Project.

The project implements activities that enhance economic vitality, improve natural systems, and strengthen community connections in the Minnehaha-Hiawatha corridor area. The Framework will guide policymakers in making private improvements within the corridor, supporting other public and private investments in the area.

The framework characterizes the corridor as a diagonal ladder, reflecting the unique orientation of the street grid and rail lines in the area. The ladder concept conveys the need for two diagonal avenues (Minnehaha and Hiawatha avenues) and key east-west streets (Lake, 38th, and 46th streets) to be strongly linked to support mobility, access and economic vitality. The three major cross streets form the primary rungs of the ladder, creating three neighborhood districts around the three LRT stations.

The project targets investment to support and hasten transition from existing heavy industrial to livable, vibrant business nodes that build on the strong linkages between the LRT stations and Minnehaha Avenue. This transition would be accomplished by infrastructure investments that improve pedestrian, bike and vehicle connectivity; support major transit-oriented development to retain and create jobs, spur affordable market-rate housing, and support community retail and services; and create green pedestrian and bike connections.

To date, the County Board has appropriated $3.1 million for the project, leveraging more than $250,000 in funding from other entities. Work on the project will continue through 2017, with an additional $6 million in funding.

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By robb, October 12, 2011 5:11 pm

The draft Action Plan for the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works project is available for review on this website.  Hard copies will soon be available at various locations in the corridor.  The Action Plan identifies 16 priority projects for short, medium, and long-term implementation in the corridor. The plan also identifies a structure for implementing these projects.

The Action Plan is the final component of the Strategic Investment Framework for the project. The other books include:

• Part 1. Data Inventory
• Part 2. Issue Summary
• Part 3. Projects Report

Comments or questions can be directed to:

Robb Luckow – 612.348.9344
robb.luckow@co.hennepin.mn.us

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By robb, July 18, 2011 11:34 am

Tell Us What You CARE About!

If you live in, work in, or visit the Longfellow or Phillips communities, we want to know your thoughts!  What are the communities’ assets?  What are your concerns?  The CARE project Community Survey is now available at the following links in English, Somali, and Spanish.

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By robb, February 4, 2011 10:32 pm

Let us know what you think of the new LED and induction street lights on 46th Street in south Minneapolis.  Check out the 12 induction lights between 34th and Hiawatha avenues and 43 LED lights between Hiawatha and 46th avenues.  Compare the light color, glare, visibility, and appeal of the lights.

Click here to fill out a survey of your impressions of the lights.

Click here for more information on the project.

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By robb, January 18, 2011 7:49 am

Hennepin County’s Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works project recently received a Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) award of $100,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The CARE program aids communities in creating partnerships to reduce toxins in the local community.  Hennepin County and community partners will use the grant to launch the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Environmental Collaboration, which will identify, prioritize and address environmental health risks.

Investment in transit isn’t just about transportation.  It’s about creating healthy and sustainable communities for residents,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who represents the area. “This grant will help us design a healthier Hiawatha Corridor and guide us in building it.”

Historically, the Minnehaha-Hiawatha corridor has served as a rail, highway, and utility services corridor, and remains a hub of industrial activity.  The collaboration will consider all potential environmental risks along the corridor, including indoor/outdoor air quality, hazardous waste, lead paint, radon, water quality, and brownfields.  Brownfields are sites whose reuse or redevelopment is hindered by the known or perceived presence of contamination, and are common in industrial areas. 

The Women’s Environmental Institute and Longfellow Community Council will help lead the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Environmental Collaboration, which will include community groups, environmental and environmental justice organizations, and government agencies, whose work will focus on the geographic area encompassing the East Phillips and western Longfellow neighborhoods.
The information gathered as a result of this award will allow the county to:

• Help area residents and businesses gain an understanding of the major sources of exposure to toxic pollutants and environmental concerns in the corridor.
• Collect all existing cumulative environmental health data and present information on extent of existing risk.
• Collaborate with the community to prioritize risks for reduction.
• Develop an action plan for responding to the prioritized tasks.
• Build capacity with project collaborators to address these environmental issues.

Keep checking this webpage for more information on this project.