New Episode of 99% Invisible: "Beneath the Skyway"

I’ve spend the last few months immersed in research, interviews, and writing about the Twin Cities’ skyway systems. Minneapolis has the oldest and largest contiguous skyway system in the world, with nearly 10 miles of connected, climate-controlled skybridges that keep many a downtown worker warm in the frigid winters. But a deep dive into history shows that the skyways were also a superimposition of a white, suburban fantasy—embodied in the world’s first indoor shopping mall, in a suburb just 8 miles away—onto an urban downtown. Still today, they divide our city, literally and figuratively. Many want them torn down—both for their divisive qualities, and also because of what they do to harm the streets below. But even so, some kids from the Twin cities found an exciting, if short-lived, new universe to explore in the skyways. Take a listen in my new episode of 99% Invisible.

I’ll be sharing bonus skyway-related posts on my Instagram all week following the release of this episode. This episode is based off my longform essay “Streets, Skyways, and Shopping Malls,” published in the Twin Cities Wildsam Field Guide in the summer of 2020. Enormous thanks to Bill Lindeke, James Garrett Jr., Allison Kaplan, and D.A. Bullock for sharing their expertise for this piece. And thanks to the 99% Invisible team for having me back for my third episode!