Marohn is the founder and president of Strong Towns. He is a professional engineer and land use planner. He has presented Strong Town concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America and previously visited New Ulm in October 2021.

His 2021 visit provided significant insight and knowledge on ways to improve New Ulm. A group of pivate business donors paid to bring Morohn back for another visit.

The visit included a walking tour of downtown New Ulm, in which Marohn pointed out aspects of areas of the downtown that worked well in terms of urban design and what areas could be improved.

The tour started in German Park with Marohn complimenting the layout of the park. He said it was a great urban park that used its space well. He would go on to praise New Ulm’s park system. He said the amount of funding for parks in New Ulm was unprecedented by today standards.

From German Park, the tour traveled through the parking garage under the former Marketplatz Mall to Minnesota Street. Marohn described the parking garage as an eyesore that was not really necessary. Throughout the tour and talk, he would state downtown had excessive parking.

“You don’t put parking in for your busiest day,” he said.

One of the goals of downtown is to make it walkable. If the downtown is interesting enough, people will be willing to park further away. Later in his talk, Marohon said if convenient parking is a business’s only competitive advantage, then that business is in trouble.

Marohn praised the overall layout of downtown Minnesota Street for its inviting atmosphere.

He would praise all artistic efforts to brighten downtown from the hanging flowerpots, to the colorful fire hydrants, to the brick relief work on Lola’s.

“It is wonderful to embrace art like this,” Marohn said.

He encouraged communities to get experimental and allow artists to try new things downtown to brighten it up. The city would not necessarily even need to commission artists, but let them work.

Marohn suggested the addition of trees along the street. He said the trees would provide additional shade on warm days.

The tour was conducted with temperatures in the 90s, with the high hitting 99. A shaded path would have benefited everyone. Trees also serve as wind blocks in the winter.

The new parklet space in front of MN Eis was the high point of praise for Marohn. He said it was a great use of space. There was a loss of parking, but they made something people would be willing to walk. The two spaces used for the parklet were not likely to bring much-added benefit to the shop.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Strong Towns founder and president Charles Marohn starts his presentation of ways to strength and revitalize New Ulm by praising German Park for its use of space. Marohn would further praise the city for its dedication to park space that was unusual for modern communities.

The biggest point of criticism was directed toward the downtown banking buildings and the former Herberger’s building. Marohn said they took up significant storefront space and dominated the area without adding anything interesting.

He said the block of Minnesota Street from 1st Street North to Center Street was the most visually interesting block. Nearly all the buildings featured a modest storefront. Even when storefronts featured basic designs, they did not offend. This makes people more willing to keep walking along the street.

Following the walking tour, Marohn continued his talk at the Schell’s Beer Hall. He gave a brief history lesson on how New Ulm and other communities similar to it were originally laid out.

The town founders built New Ulm with idea that the first buildings were temporary. As the city grew it could be redeveloped for later generations.

Marohn explained the founders never imagined the city would be done being built, it would continue to rebuild. It required generational work and small investments that pay off over time.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt During the walking tour portion of the Strong Towns presentation, Charles Marohn praised the parklet space created in front of MN Eis, saying it was a great use of space.

“A city put under a glass case and preserved will die,” he said.

During the question-and-answer section of his talk, Marohn was asked if downtown Minnesota Street should remain one-way or be made into a two-way street.

He believed a two-way street was superior. Two-way traffic usually lowered speeds downtown, and while accidents might increase, they would be less deadly than a one-way.

He added the ultimate goal for downtown New Ulm should be to have no vehicle traffic on the street. The idea is to have a downtown so unique and interesting that people wanted to park a few blocks away and walk there.

Asked if downtown housing was a good idea, Marohn said, “It was neither good nor bad. It was essential.”

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Charles Marohn points to the small balcony over the fomer Ulmer building as a wonderful addition that was unique to the block. He was disappointed to learn the building was being taken over by the bank next door and hoped the facade would be preserved.

The best way to have people downtown is to have them live in that area.

One of the core themes of Marohn’s talk was the need to be flexible and adaptive. As a rule, he was against making all-at-once decisions for an irreversible community. He said it was OK to experiment and try new things.

He said the way to end entropy was by being a little chaotic.