NDDC Downtown Forum hosts writer Steve Berg: "Healthy By Design" October 4, 2005

The Northfield Downtown Development Corp. (NDDC) will host Star Tribune editorial writer Steve Berg at its monthly Downtown Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 8 a.m. in the lower-level conference of the Archer House in downtown Northfield.
The event is free and open to the public. Coffee and treats will be served.
A journalist at the Star Tribune since 1976, Berg recently has written a series called ?Healthy By Design,? focusing on the potential to create economically vital downtowns by encouraging residents and visitors to walk. In one story, he cited the example of Vancouver, Canada, ?which uses public beauty to induce daily walking and retail vitality.?
Another article drew from lessons learned in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., among others, to suggest how Minneapolis can inspire its booming downtown residential population to spend more of their money in the inner city. ?Here?s the paradox of downtown Minneapolis,? Berg wrote, ?residential is booming, retail is sliding.?
Berg?s talk in Northfield, also titled ?Healthy By Design,? will describe how smaller communities such as Northfield might benefit from his research. ?The crux of the presentation will be how some cities are trying to design physical activity into the daily lives of their residents in order to create a healthier, safer environment,? he said.
Berg is familiar with Northfield both as a journalist and a parent. His younger child is a senior at St. Olaf College, and Berg himself covered the local dissent about the new Target store for the Minneapolis-based paper.