From our blog

Water, Infrastructure, Climate Change: Future-Oriented Thinking

This past Friday CDG hosted an enriching water-themed Lunch-and-Learn to cap off Infrastructure Week. The presentation featured two field experts: Matt Kumka of Barr Engineering and Marcus Bush of the Metropolitan Council. Matt presented on infrastructure innovations that creatively and responsibly deal with water runoff. Marcus focused on the efforts of the Met Council's Environmental Services department to most efficiently process water and accommodate increased regional growth.

Key presentation takeaways:

The Future of the Small Box store in Small Town America

Small towns across the country are looking to grow at the same time as they are attempting to preserve their unique character. How can thoughtful planning strike a balance between these two basic principles: protect and prosper?

A people-centered approach applied in St. Joseph, MN

St. Joseph, a city of approximately 6,700 people, is located in Stearns County in central Minnesota. The city is an hour outside of the Twin Cities and is home to the College of Saint Benedict, small local businesses, families, and industries. Residents love the city's small town feel, feeling of safety, and its close-knit community and local businesses. The city is currently working with CDG to develop their comprehensive plan update. The update is an effort to strategically plan and improve land use, housing, parks, transportation, and economic development as the city grows.

CDG explores ADA

CDG has been working with This Inclusive Life to plan routes for accessibility walks in the Twin Cities.

This Inclusive Life is a new consulting firm run by Kjensmo Walker who plans accessibility walks, holds equity trainings, and fosters leadership development.

Here are a few things we are looking for as we walk the streets of the Twin Cities.

Warming things up in the Ice Box of the Nation

The Community Design Group team is excited to be leading an update of the International Falls Comprehensive Plan! This is the first and only update since the City's first plan was created in 1966.

Presentation from Winter Cycling Conference

The 2016 Winter Cycling Conference was great. I presented as part of a panel entitled "Lessons about low-density bicycle planning" along with Jack Broz (Richfield Public Works) and Kalle Vaismaa (consultant with WSP Finland). From the conference program:

So we got this great new blog ...

... but we've not been posting anything!

Welcome to our new site

Greetings friends, welcome to our new website. It looks much like our previous version but has a whole different set of gears inside the hub (yes, clunky metaphor but I was trying to be less car-centric than "different engine under the hood"). Other candidates: different socks inside the shoe, different crank arms for our pedals, etc. - regardless, we're now running on a CMS instead of our previous static HTML site, it will help us more quickly and (and more often) share with you news about our work.