Big Ideas: Minneapolis 2040

This past weekend, Minneapolis hosted the annual Community Connections Conference bringing together a confluence of diverse voices from all over the city to exchange ideas, engage one another and discover different ways to shape our city of the future.

Minneapolis is a progressive place. You can feel it in your first encounter. Perhaps it’s the influence of the Mississippi flowing along and bringing with it new ideas and a sense of renewal. From the lush green space all around, providing space for reflection and appreciation, to the energetic dynamic of our neighborhoods and the people that bring a positivite mentality to the present moment, we shape our future. Our willingness and drive to try new things and an appreciation of our history define this place.

Here at Queblo, we are very excited about new ways to connect the city by bringing together diverse communities.

The City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Parks Foundation is doing a fantastic job with the addition of parks and green corridors, linking neighborhoods together and envigorating with life - areas that previously felt grey and uninhabitable. It’s a sign of a healthy community.

One of the most exciting intiatives is the River First Riverfront Development, a project with a huge potential for creativity and positive impact.

Behind every great initiative, there are great people — and Minneapolis can be proud of its civic engagement. There are many people of different ages, and cultural backgrounds, different histories and experiences coming together to create this place. New tools like Civic Eagle, allow that discourse to happen in a fluid way, broadening engagement and showing that each individual voice is valuable. We are very excited to see Civic Eagle in Minneapolis and look forward to use the platform to engage on a variety of local topics, including issues related to the Latino community, immigration and labor.

There were many other companies and individuals creating positive change, too numerous to name here. We walked away from the event with a feeling of being a part of a dynamic and growing place, where people are excited to come together and be the change they want to see in their city.

With Queblo, we want to do our part by elevating the building trades and helping people discover new opportunities. Our immigrant communities make an important contribution to the fabric of the city through their hard work. We see a great potential to enhance their contribution and empower them individually by bridging cultural and language barriers, linking our neighborhoods through commerce and shaping the future of our city together.