The 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the Minnesota State Capitol Area is organized by a set of aspirational outcomes called The Capitol Area Principles. Each Principle is a chapter in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan (see Table of Contents here), developed through extensive review of existing policy, various planning tracks and studies, and interaction with stakeholder groups.
The Capitol Area Principles anchor the policy that serves to guide the CAAPB in transforming the Capitol Area into a complete and healthy community with vibrant public spaces, a range of movement options, a diverse mix of land uses, and attractive buildings framing lively, pedestrian-friendly streets. They are designed to reinforce the visual pre-eminence of the Capitol Building, maintain the Capitol Campus as a visitor destination, preserve its component neighborhoods as vibrant urban villages, acknowledge the inherently productive nature of community building and neighborhood interdependence, and produce a clear direction for a future in tune with Saint Paul’s aspirations.
The 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the Minnesota State Capitol Area was approved and adopted by the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board on June 3, 2021.
The fourth principle of the Comprehensive Plan addresses the public realm of the Capitol Area. The public realm refers to the network of public spaces that extends beyond the Capitol Campus into the surrounding neighborhoods. This network includes open spaces—such as parks and plazas—and the linkages that connect them—streets, pathways, trails, and bridges. This chapter outlines four key elements of the public realm, followed by policies that will enable those patterns:
- A Linked System of Parks and Open Space
- A Comfortable Streetscape Experience: The Public Right of Way
- A Comfortable Streetscape Experience: Building Frontages and Street-Level Activation
- Art in the Public Realm.
