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The combined epidemics of drugs and homelessness fall hard on older cities. They are almost the only locales that tolerate our most vulnerable people while also boasting the highest concentrations of social services — food shelves, emergency shelter, public hospitals and the like. Walkable streets and urban transit are lifelines to those with almost nothing, and it’s no surprise that people on the margins seek refuge in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Yet this is no excuse for the fencing of our cites’ public spaces, particularly sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. Fences have become a scourge for anyone trying to walk around downtowns or working-class Twin Cities neighborhoods over the last few years. Instead of solving challenging problems, our governments have turned to fences that cut off necessary urban connections, and it amounts to an abdication of public obligation to people on foot…