Twin Cities, Minnesota

The University of Minnesota retained Urban Strategies led by Ken Greenberg, to produce a Master Plan entitled "A Livable Campus" released in 1996, at an important juncture in its history. The Master Plan was intended to create a vision for the physical development of the Twin Cities campuses, enrich the campus experience, maximize existing physical resources while allowing for change, and ensure an inclusive and accountable process for implementation. The Plan starts form a clear recognition of the past strengths of the University, celebrating the rich heritage of the Cass Gilbert Plan including Northrop Mall and the Horace Cleveland Knoll as well as the opportunities that are inherent in its setting. The Master Plan recaptures and draws into the campus the Mississippi River and Washington Avenue in Minneapolis and protects the distinctive agricultural setting and wetlands in Saint Paul.

Acknowledging the campus as separate yet connected to the surrounding neighborhoods, the Master Plan embraces the city as a positive and vibrant environment offering a host of resources and opportunities for synergy and overlap. A mix of new uses, particularly housing, was introduced to serve and enliven the campus. Much of the plan has been implemented and strategic modifications of infrastructure have been made to reveal new opportunities for strategic redevelopment along the Mississippi River bluff edge.