Transcripts

SPEAKER 1: We've changed the design of our city. So much so that I think in the last 10 years the change is pretty obvious to everyone is we've really become more indoor Cities, especially with the Skyway system and the shopping malls and the Metrodome is sort of a symbol of that. And one of the things my international colleagues point out to me all the time is that they can do better with winter and talking about, making winter more livable to their citizens because especially in Canada, because you really can't go South that much. I mean, you live there, you have to become-- you have to move to another country to escape it altogether. Whereas here we've got that vast Southern land beneath us.

SPEAKER 2: It's tempting.

SPEAKER 1: And I think people escape winter that way. And that sometimes has unintended consequence of relieving us from the obligation of trying to think about how to make our city more livable for those of us who stay here all winter, and for those of us who are here during the bad weather.

SPEAKER 2: Well, for those of us who do have some trouble coping through the course of the year, and especially looking at what appears to be a fairly long winter this year, are there any two or three things that people should be doing in their own lives to make it a little easier?

SPEAKER 1: Well, I'm not a native Minnesotan. I moved here from Oklahoma, and although I had lived in winter off and on in my life, I'd never been exposed to prolonged winters. And I got wonderful advice when I moved here. It was do something outside. And I've always remembered that. And if it's jogging or walking or whatever, I think getting outside is really a key to coping with winter.

When we look at the Cities mostly in Scandinavian countries and some in Canada that have a reputation for being livable winter Cities, that's one of the things you discover is that the Cities are designed to encourage people to get out. Canals that freeze over. And that are turned into public skating rinks. Walking paths that are kept clear, cross-country ski. Tracks that are groomed in the middle of the Cities. I think all of these things are absolutely crucial. Obviously, not everyone can get out, but for able-bodied people, I think that that's absolutely crucial is to find some kind of activity you can engage in outside.

SPEAKER 2: Pretend that it's not there?

SPEAKER 1: No. Dress for it and deal with winter. That's one of the truly remarkable things is a number of years ago in Edmonton, there was a convention of-- which was devoted to the theme of winter as good business and people designers and automotive manufacturers and people from various aspects of business came there to show what are really remarkable strides that have been made in making winter more livable.

We have lightweight, very warm clothing. We have all kinds of masks. We have all kinds of articles of apparel and devices that help us to stay warm. And I think it is quite possible, to be comfortable in weather even down to zero. And I think that's the number one thing. And I think that's part of what we have to do with our city design too, is to start instead of-- people get depressed when they're inside and just staying inside, you need to get out and do things.

SPEAKER 2: And there's always that landmass to the South.

SPEAKER 1: Well, unfortunately for us, I think that's true, at least unfortunately for the Twin Cities.