About

Posted by Adrienne on November 6, 2006

I began this blog in 2007 to get to know the Twin Cities better by visiting, and writing about, independent coffee shops in the metro area. Coffee shops no longer hold my curiosity as a subject matter, but they are certainly great places to get some writing done. Since graduating with a Masters in Landscape Architecture in 2010, I’ve been working as a research fellow at a university research and design center where we assist communities and cities in the metro area with research, planning, and conceptual design on urban design projects. We’ve worked on streetscapes, parks, housing, greenway plans, and many other issues. My favorite part, aside from knowing that we are helping communities make good urban design decisions, is the research. I love immersing myself in interesting topics, figuring out how to communicate my findings to other people, and seeing how what I’ve learned can make a difference in real ways.

While doing research, I come across many amazing resources, fascinating tidbits of history, and interesting ideas. This collection of articles, photographs, graphics, and ideas about cities, culture, history, and the environment are just gathering digital dust in my computer. So I’d like to share some of what I’m learning here on Cafeapolis, because others might find it equally as interesting. In many ways the blog is for me: to help me practice my writing and to have a display case for what I find. If it is successful and evolves into something really worthwhile, I may transport it to a “real” blog with its own name and intent. But in the meantime Cafeapolis will now function as my virtual workspace and fun informal project. You are welcome to follow along with me!

Enjoy and feel free to leave me (Adrienne) comments or write me an email.

Also a special thanks to my own webmaster, Justin, for making this happen (and for being an amazing person too).