Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Heather Worthington and Paul Mogush, two of the people behind the forthcoming Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan is the basic planning document for the city, a ten-year update required by the regional government, and Minneapolis’ plan has been getting a lot of attention for making some change to zoning and transportation issues, and for placing equity and climate values at its core.

In her role as Long-Range Planning Director, Heather Worthington has been overseeing the release and revision of the plans, and has been the main figure at public meetings throughout the city this summer, discussing the goals and policies in the plan with community members. Paul Mogush is a Manager of Community Planning for the city, and has been working behind the scenes on the 2040 plan for years. Both work within the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department, and it was great to sit down with them a week or so ago and discuss the goals and context for the new plan, and how the discussion has been going throughout Minneapolis and at City Hall.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

If you like this podcast, check out my new coffee table book on Twin Cities history, Minneapolis / Saint Paul: Then and Now. The book features over 140 pages of old and new photographs of interesting sites in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Edina, South Saint Paul, and the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory. The historic photos range from the 1870s to the 1970s, and the new photos were taken last summer by a professional photographer who matched the scenes, angles, and aspect rations nearly flawlessly. It’s a great read and makes a great gift