Minneapolis St. Paul

Minneapolis - St. Paul is an original and fresh examination of the physical, economic, and social environment that sets the Twin Cities apart from other US cities of their size. Adams and Vandrasek characterize the Twin Cities as an outstanding place to live, work, play, and participate in an active civic life. The entrepreneurial drive and civic involvement of its early settlers and labourers were instrumental in the development of the area's abundant resources. Lakes, extensive parklands, natural preserves, and the urban forest play a large role in drawing people to the Twin Cities and keeping them. The outstanding legacy of open space in the metro region is no accident; it is a product of the long-term vision of some of its earliest leaders. Enhanced with maps, photographs, and graphs, this book offers one of the most comprehensive, up-to-date books available on the metro area and its unique social, economic, political, and physical environment. Useful for both present and prospective residents of the Twin Cities, as well as real-estate brokers and developers, local government officials, city planners, public relations representatives, students of urban geography and sociology, and land-use planners, Minneapolis - St. Paul offers an impressive and entertaining compilation of information about the economic foundations of the area, development patterns and their origins, postwar housing expansion and its repercussions in the central cities, public and private renewal of the central cities, and land-use conflicts in the suburbs and beyond.