3 Mass Ave to Feature Green Roof
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Uncategorized on May 31st, 2007 | 0 comments
I returned from a 5-day trip to New York City to this tidbit of positive news listed in the latest issue of Urban Times (pdf warning). Developers are starting to realize that this can only help their interests, and attract more of the young, creative class into the city. Even if they can not afford it, it plants the seed for the possibility of living in a place like this in the...
The Benefit of High Gas Prices
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Uncategorized on May 21st, 2007 | 0 comments
There’s a noticeable bit of panic in this city when gas prices rise. Our lack of options is a serious handicap. I’ve been known to fret a time or twelve as well.
However, there are quite a few benefits. High gas prices may be the only way that people get serious about alternatives. First, our flatness could help Indianapolis could become a fine bicycling city. Our greenway system is fine as long as you’re near a river or the Monon, but with no real bike lanes anywhere in the city (yet) we have not tapped our true potential. Second, as highlighted by this article in the Star,...
Inspiration From Abroad
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Uncategorized on May 15th, 2007 | 2 comments
The excellent quarterly newsletter Carfree Times has been updated, featuring two innovative projects.
The first is a massive-scale project in Abu Dhabi designed to be completely carbon neutral. It will combine ideas from the past (compact walled city) with ideas for the future (solar and wind power). It is obviously quite ambitious.
The second is on a much smaller scale, and is actually already in place in Erlangen, Germany. The town features narrow streets and a park-like design. The pictures tell quite a bit of the story as you see children walking in the street, completely oblivious to the fact...
Thoughts on the Indy Star Face-off
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Uncategorized on May 14th, 2007 | 1 comment
The so-called Face-Off from the Indy Star’s Voices section ends up as a knock-out for the pro-mass transit crowd. The mass transit supporter’s article, while a bit broad, hit upon many of the key points for the future of our city, including pollution, funding, sprawl, and gas prices. However, the article from the supporters of more roads is so poor that I actually laughed out loud at one passage. Here’s the offending sentence:
Buses and trains use 19th-century technologies that aren’t suited to the needs of a modern economy.
Nice. It’s as if they’ve never left...
Downtown Farmer’s Market is Back
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Uncategorized on May 2nd, 2007 | 0 comments
Thus begins the season of wandering past the vendors and selecting fresh fruits and veggies (along with the best pastry place in town). Huzzah!
A Downtown street will close to vehicles today to make way for vendors peddling fruit, vegetables and popcorn for this year’s first Farmer’s Market.
The event, which will return every Wednesday until the fall, features more than 40 vendors in booths and tables near the City Market on Market Street east of Delaware Street.
“It’s a good sign summer’s coming back,” said Greg McGuire, who has managed the...
