Is minneapolis sprawled? (Bloomington, Edina, Roseville: apartments, condos, townhomes)

[Midwesterns45]

Looking at google earth, it doesn't look like the saint paul and mnpls metro area is as sprawled outward as suppose to the case in milwaukee and chicago..

looking at shakopee, maple grove, and areas east of saint paul it looks very rural. Is this true??
I don't want to live in a place where the suburbs just dont end as you drive away from the city like metro chicago & detroit

[Slig]

I would say about half of the metropolitan area population is sprawled. As far as I'm concerned anything outside of the 494/694 loop is sprawl zone.

[K-Luv]

I guess that you can technically call it sprawl, but it is not the same kind of sprawl that you find on the West Coast or in the North East. Shakopee is in my opinion still rural, but the area is developing rather quickly. Ten or fifteen years from now it will be connected as an outer ring suburb if development keeps up at the same pace.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Slig

I would say about half of the metropolitan area population is sprawled. As far as I'm concerned anything outside of the 494/694 loop is sprawl zone.

Downtown Hopkins isn't sprawl, and neither is part of Bloomington (the areas I lived in around Old Cedar/Old Shakopee was quite walkable).

[Slig]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Downtown Hopkins isn't sprawl, and neither is part of Bloomington (the areas I lived in around Old Cedar/Old Shakopee was quite walkable).

Hopkins is inside the loop. I'll give Bloomington the benefit of the doubt because of it's location pegged up against the airport.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

I would say about half of the metropolitan area population is sprawled. As far as I'm concerned anything outside of the 494/694 loop is sprawl zone.

Interesting observation, lets see:

Roseville, MN incorporated in 1948
Edina is 125 years old
Mendota Heights incorporated 1956

Rosemount--150 years old (Same year as Minneapolis)
Stillwater 1840's

Now, where exactly is the sprawl? South Minneapolis was considered sprawl not all that long ago.

[MplsTodd]

I think the Twin Cities have a significant amount of sprawl. The combination of a growing economy during the past two decades, a pretty affluent population that can afford a high % of single-family homes, the lack of any signicant physical barriers (no mountains, Great Lakes or oceans) and reduced political will from the Met Council to fight sprawl all contributed to a strong outward growth. $3.50 - $4.00 per gallon gasoline is impacting demand for these fringe areas, making many people think twice about how far they want to commute.
Offsetting the sprawl growth though has been increased interest in developing in the central core of the metro area, with condos, townhomes and new apartments located in both cities and many inner ring suburbs.

[kuan]

I consider it sprawl when you can't walk to your local grocer.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Slig

Hopkins is inside the loop. I'll give Bloomington the benefit of the doubt because of it's location pegged up against the airport.

Oh, you're right. My brain was thinking that 100 was 494. That's not right.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by kuan

I consider it sprawl when you can't walk to your local grocer.

When I moved into my apartment building in east Bloomington back in 1989, I had a Country Club Market right across Old Shakopee from me (less than a block away), and also had a Subway, a good pizza place (Carbone's), three gas stations (two did car repairs), an SA, and a liquor store all within easy walking distance (less than a block except for the SA which was two or three).

The MoA was roughly a mile away, which was easy to walk to along Old Shakopee Road, and the Old Cedar Avenue bridge and the whole MN River nature preserve was an easy hike down the hill towards the river. Half a mile at most to the bridge.

I haven't lived in a place that walkable since, but it was rather convenient at the time. I could get just about anything I needed w/o a car as long as I was willing to spend a little time on my feet. And I had nice sidewalks to walk on.