Have you heard talk of ‘infill development’ lately? If you’ve followed the local news, probably; it has been a common talking point over the past few years in Minot. It’s also a core principle of Governor Burgum’s Main Street Initiative.
In concept, the idea is simple. Focus development towards the urban core of a city so as to better capture infrastructure investments already in the ground — and thus, paid for. This is opposed to the practice of pushing ever outward into green fields and forcing new capital and maintenance costs onto an already strained tax base.
But what does that look like in practice? What challenges does this new philosophy create? And what policies begin to nudge the behavior?
This perspective from the Winnipeg Press speaks to so many Minot issues. Not only does it share how to go about this work, but also illustrates why it’s important.
