Bill Lindeke

Communications, Research and Design


"Sidewalks are brilliant little places made especially for people, but where I grew up in the suburbs we didn't have them. People, if they wanted to walk anywhere, would walk on the road's shoulder, with traffic passing by at 40 mph ...

One of the big problems working against increasing per capita walking in the US is that so few of our neighborhoods are actually walkable ...

The first thing you need is something to walk upon ...

The second thing you need is somewhere to walk to. Even if a city had sidewalks and density, it'd be pointless if there were no destinations ... Where I live now, I'm lucky enough to have two grocery stores within a block of my house, and it allows me the luxury of walking for two minutes to buy a stick of butter, a can of pop, or a fresh homemade bratwurst if I get the inclination.

Bill Lindeke is a writer, geographer and philosopher. A long time Saint Paul resident, his research on urban geography and the complexity of social networks combines interests in local governance, media, and urban planning. He has spent the last five years working to support walkable neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.

Bill has worked as a journalist and news director at KFAI radio, reporting on local urban politics and producing audio documentaries on neighborhood interconnections. His work in urbanism has centered around improving walkability and access to mobility choices, and in promoting a complete streets philosophy to businesses, citizens, and government.

Bill is a keen student of urban planning history, with particular interest on the intersection of planning with both media and New Urbanism. He is the chief author of "Twin Cities Sidewalks" a web-based meditation on the meaning and role of walkable urban spaces in our metropolis, and is news editor of "Twin Cities Streets for People". He is committed to helping US cities prepare for a more sustainable, more walkable future.

Select Project Experience

  • Marketing Community: Re-introducing Social Capital and New Urbanism, Presentation at 2008 Association of American Geographers Conference
  • Author of Re-Framing the City: Television Architecture and Urban Representation in Minneapolis, forthcoming from Aether: The Journal of Media Geography
  • GIS Field Researcher, New Immigrant Destinations Grant Proposal, Siler City, North Carolina

Education

  • M.A. Candidate, Geography, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
  • Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy and Literature, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 2001

Memberships