Emerging connections : developing transit corridors in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Abstract

A new era is coming to St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood on the rails of the new Green Line light rail extension. There is a potential for the Green Line expansion to bring about a flourish of growth and positive change in the neighborhoods it touches, and this thesis will seek to tap that potential and transform it into a new urban node for the Minneapolis – St. Paul metropolitan area. If quality design interventions take place here, the University Avenue corridor can begin to reflect the character of the neighborhood to which it belongs. Doing so will illustrate that connections between places can serve as more than conduits, generating their own unique places. Our thesis explores the design of a public square and transit station at the intersection of University Avenue and Hamline Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our focus will be on responding to the need for transit-oriented development (TOD) through sustainable practices in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood. Our research methods in proving this hypothesis will be mixed-method with an emphasis upon a quantitative foundation, augmented by qualitative data.