Is Carmel More Progressive than Indianapolis?


It seems every month or so, a new development in Carmel is featured in the Indystar. Carmel is densifying their city at an impressive rate. These developments are helping it shed the suburban sprawl image and move to a place where people can actually walk and bike without putting their lives in danger. I’m not sure if any of these developments are “green” buildings, but the simple fact that people will use their car less helps cut down on pollution and oil dependence. Also, many intersections have been turned into roundabouts, a popular solution in Europe to keep traffic flowing at a safe speed. Again, less pollution wasted by sitting at traffic lights. I’m not really sure if they are pedestrian friendly or not, but they can be made that way if needed. Monument Circle is downtown Indy’s large, safe roundabout.

Compare this with Indianapolis. It seems that our city is moving a bit slower towards a dense environment. I’m sure part of this has to do with the fact that our city is so much larger and less affluent. But it seems strange that a suburb is actually in the forefront on density. Our mayor is rightfully using Chicago as a reference for future developments. But could he also look just north of 96th Street?

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