ABSTRACT
The redevelopment process in Minneapolis involves an attempt to recreate the positive aspects of life that existed in the nineteenth-century city, an era when the city was a dynamic and positive environment Redevelopment has focused on recovering the importance of downtown, restoring the industrial base lost to the suburbs and revitalizing neighborhood life—all characteristic aspects of the historic city. The city’s public planning efforts, well documented by Altshuler and others, have involved significant cooperation among city agencies and private organizations. This paper will focus on the role of the private sector in this partnership to encourage redevelopment.
Nicollet Mall and the industrial development program are two of the major accomplishments of the recovery efforts. Where success has eluded the city, as in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood revitalization project, more attention to the historic and social needs of residents might contribute to fulfillment of project goals. The Minneapolis recovery effort has demonstrated the benefits of a civic-conscious business elite, a local government willing to innovate with and for private enterprise, a desire in both public and private sectors for quality planning, and the presence of historical perspective in the planning process.
