Minneapolis About to Surpass Detroit as Midwest's #2 Metro Economy

[oladub]

Most of Minneapolis is pretty safe. The crime rate is much lower than Detroit's. That is a starting point because to have a successful light rail line and a downtown that is full of people even at night like Minneapolis does, there can't be much crime.

Besides Target and Best Buy, the Twin Cities are a hub of the US grain industry and home of high tech manufacturers 3M, Medtronic, and St. Jude. Target took over the J.L. Hudson company many years ago.

[DetroitPlanner]

Besides Target and Best Buy, the Twin Cities are a hub of the US grain industry and home of high tech manufacturers 3M, Medtronic, and St. Jude. Target took over the J.L. Hudson company many years ago.

Actually Target was started by Dayton-Hudson. For those of you who think that Minneapolis/St. Paul is any less fragmented than Detroit, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. It also has more freeway miles per person than any other city that I have ever been in. The downtown streets are dead, mostly due to the habitrail tubes that have turned it into one giant indoor privatized shopping mall.

[iheartthed]

Actually Target was started by Dayton-Hudson. For those of you who think that Minneapolis/St. Paul is any less fragmented than Detroit, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. It also has more freeway miles per person than any other city that I have ever been in. The downtown streets are dead, mostly due to the habitrail tubes that have turned it into one giant indoor privatized shopping mall.

Actually, it was started before Dayton's and Hudson's merged. So it was started by Dayton's.

[oladub]

Actually Target was started by Dayton-Hudson. For those of you who think that Minneapolis/St. Paul is any less fragmented than Detroit, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. It also has more freeway miles per person than any other city that I have ever been in. The downtown streets are dead, mostly due to the habitrail tubes that have turned it into one giant indoor privatized shopping mall.

I disagree. I have two kids living in Minneapolis so I visit there often. Minneapolis is many times more vibrant than Detroit although it doesn't surpass Toronto. Downtown is teaming with people even late at night, high rise condos are springing up all around downtown, the stadiums all have light rail access as do the airport and Mall of America. Downtown Detroit used to have shopping too but Minneapolis keeps expanding it's downtown merchants and hosts major corporate headquarters. Suburbanites hop on the light rail and go downtown for an evening game then have a few at downtown bars before heading back to the burbs. Minneapolis has a long winter though. Hence, the tubes that connect all of downtown and two stadiums so pedestrians can walk all around downtown without a jacket. Rochester MN also has those to connect downtown with all it's hospitals. If you don't want to take freeways, Minneapolis has great bicycling facilities. My son even bicycles downtown to work all winter.

http://www.metrotransit.org/

[Novine]

Minneapolis also has a regional tax-sharing system with the suburbs. Each year, a certain amount of tax dollars from new growth is redistributed to communities that have less. This has helped to turn around inner-ring suburbs that are struggling with legacy costs, redevelopment, etc. When this program was started, it was mostly the high-growth suburbs that were sharing the tax dollars. But over time, Minneapolis has become a donor city due to increases in value of commercial and industrial property. The Minneapolis region realized that none of the communities were going to prosper if the inner core of the region was in a constant state of decline. Based on what's worked in Minneapolis and what hasn't worked in Detroit, it sounds like they made the right call.

[Detroitnerd]

Minneapolis also has a regional tax-sharing system with the suburbs. Each year, a certain amount of tax dollars from new growth is redistributed to communities that have less. This has helped to turn around inner-ring suburbs that are struggling with legacy costs, redevelopment, etc. When this program was started, it was mostly the high-growth suburbs that were sharing the tax dollars. But over time, Minneapolis has become a donor city due to increases in value of commercial and industrial property. The Minneapolis region realized that none of the communities were going to prosper if the inner core of the region was in a constant state of decline. Based on what's worked in Minneapolis and what hasn't worked in Detroit, it sounds like they made the right call.

Shhhh! No revenue sharing! We don't want to pay for anything! The fact that Detroit is a hellhole is Detroiters' faults and not our problem. Everything is fine here in metro Detroit! We'll build roads and the prosperity will follow.

Just repeat after me,
"It's 1963.
It's 1963
times infinity."

[Gistok]

Arguing over what someone stated in a blog...

So that means that this must be true....

Still wondering if Higgins Lake is still the "6th most beautiful lake in the world".... that's what their signs say... so it must be true...

[maxx]

Shhhh! No revenue sharing! We don't want to pay for anything! The fact that Detroit is a hellhole is Detroiters' faults and not our problem. Everything is fine here in metro Detroit! We'll build roads and the prosperity will follow.

Just repeat after me,
"It's 1963.
It's 1963
times infinity."

Revenoo sharing? AIn't that soshulism?

"We'll build roads and prosperity will follow."

Someone has watched "Field of Dreams" one too many times.

[R8RBOB]

Most of Minneapolis is pretty safe. The crime rate is much lower than Detroit's. That is a starting point because to have a successful light rail line and a downtown that is full of people even at night like Minneapolis does, there can't be much crime.

Besides Target and Best Buy, the Twin Cities are a hub of the US grain industry and home of high tech manufacturers 3M, Medtronic, and St. Jude. Target took over the J.L. Hudson company many years ago.

I have to agree with oladub about MPLS. I went to Minneapolis back in 2005 for work and I found it to be a good experience. I liked how I was able to take the light rail from MPLS/St. Paul airport to downtown. [[something Detroit lacks big time) There were plenty of affordable restaurants to choose from and there was nightlife.[[it helped that the Twins were playing at home when I was there)

I got to check out Nicollet Mall and found it to be a good concept to dedicate a stretch of Nicollett Ave and make it basically a open mall. Mall of America was too damn big but so is the Great Mall in Milpitas, CA.

If Minneapolis is doing better than Detroit it is because Minneapolis is not Detroit and it don't have the suburbs going against their interests.

[Novine]

"Gotta agree with Gistok here. Where is there anything listing the credibility for whomever the quasi-anonymous person is behind this blog?"

It should be simple to check the numbers to confirm that they're accurate. Whatever the credibility of the person posting them, the numbers can always be checked.