Community Profile

Summary

The Greater Longfellow Community is a vibrant urban neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With 23,000 residents, it is the most populous and geographically largest neighborhood association in the city. It is a diverse community of many ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. Its western boundary has trains, highway, and grain silos. The residential heart of the neighborhood consists of small homes and yards with tree lined boulevards that people drive, walk, or bike to local restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters, antique shops, and numerous other urban amenities. To the east, and also separating Minneapolis from St Paul, is the Mississippi river, which played a significant role in the formation and settlement of the Twin Cities. This part of the Mississippi is now a portion of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, and Longfellow’s section boasts small remnants of the original local ecosystems: Oak Savanna, Oak Forest, Maple Basswood Forest, Floodplain Forest, and Prairie. Longfellow has long enjoyed its natural wonders, which also includes the famous Minnehaha Falls. After a little over a hundred years of intensive development, local residents have been working more recently to preserve and restore the native plants, wildlife, and natural wonders that abound here. From buckthorn busts and cleanups along the river, to installing raingardens and Monarch Way Stations, the Longfellow Community has a deep commitment to a healthy balanced environment that can be shared by residents and wildlife alike.