Among the findings in the recent release of Minnesota census information by the 2000 Census:
* Population in the central cities grew during the '90s, adding more than 29,000 people, following sharp declines in previous decades.
* Most population growth occurred in the urbanized area of the Twin Cities region, with most growth occurring in the developing suburbs.
* Population growth continued in the first-ring suburbs.
"Ten years ago, we found out that our region was not immune from problems facing other big cities," says Metropolitan Council Chair Ted Mondale. "Today, the strategies put in place to reverse these problems areworking."
Overall, the Twin Cities metropolitan area added 413,029 people, increasing the total metropolitan population to 2,868,847.
Mondale believes the census results suggest urban planners should continue to aggressively pursue redevelopment and reinvestment strategies in theurban centers, including cleaning up polluted land, investing in housing, and improving community livability.
Since passage of the Livable Communities Act in the mid-'90s, the Council has committed nearly $70 million in cleaning up polluted land for redevelopment, developing affordable housing and creating models ofmixed-use development that is walkable, transit-friendly and more cost efficient for taxpayers.
Mondale points to the Phalen Corridor in St. Paul, where regional investments are helping to create a main street on Payne Avenue and encouraging redevelopment for a new charter school, job growth andhousing. What's more, a strip mall is being redeveloped and a wetland restored, creating a community amenity out of what was amostly-vacant shopping center. Preliminary census numbers show population growth in the Phalen Corridor of about 1,700 people.
Another example is the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, where preliminary census numbers show a population increase of 2,500 people. The Phillips neighborhood has had significant regional investment, adding affordable housing, creating employment and training opportunities and improving infrastructure for safety and aesthetics. As a result, property values have dramatically increased over the last 10 years,Mondale says.
And there's the Minneapolis Riverfront, where brownfield clean-up investments are making way for new businesses and business expansions, office space, a hotel, the skating rink, housing-from apartments to luxury condos, shops, a community library and a museum. Preliminary numbers show an increase from about 500 residents in 1990 to more than 1,500 people in 2000.
While the central cities and first-ring suburbs experience population growth, most of the region's growth continues to occur in the developing suburbs. Mondale says that continuing trend reinforces the needto think creatively about how growth occurs.
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