Urban Indy

A few new remodel and infill projects have hit the newswire recently, many of them featuring “green”, energy saving construction. Nuvo updates us on a remodel of the landmark Gramse building. Eastern Fountain Square is getting a major boost with the Millard Fuller Legacy Build 2010 program. (The comments in the article are frighteningly similar to the unhelpful ones found in the IndyStar). Crown Hill neighborhood is planning a similar transformation with help from the Children’s Museum. It seems that we are seeing more of this type of development lately. I hope it can continue. … Read entire article »

Unfortunately, I no longer have an events calendar on this blog. I didn’t like the way it was displayed through Google/Blogger, and I also had a tough time keeping up with events. November seems to have a good deal of intriguing events dealing with urban sustainability issues. The Spirit and Place Festival in particular is jam-packed. Here’s a brief rundown: November 2: Doug Tallamy presents a lecture on how gardening can sustain wildlife at Clowes Hall. November 3: Open House at the downtown location of Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning. November 8: Self-guided Indy Parks Bicycle and Walk Tour. Marian University hosts a tour of their Eco Lab presented by Green Broad Ripple. Booth Tarkington’s home is the setting for a discussion on how historic urban … Read entire article »

Broad Ripple Gazette has an article about the conservation ethic behind the BRBP. Combining beer with a forward-thinking business plan is something I can get behind. There are actually quite a few interesting items mentioned in the article. Spent grain feeds cattle for local farmers. They already utilize major energy saving measures. Front and center, there is a humongous bike rack. Finally, they reused a defunct building and made it feel like it’s always been there. Kudos to the BRBP. … Read entire article »

The IBJ has posted an article regarding the Kroger and Caravelle Commons. The article mentions the non-urban form and dead-end streets of the apartments. These are good points. However, I’m not sure if we have yet learned this lesson, as non-urban apartments and housing complexes are still under development in Marion County. This is a brand new apartment complex in Washington Township. This was formerly a forest. There is currently only one entrance, a … Read entire article »

I have been forwarded an e-mail from the person in charge of the Winter Farmers Market. I will be attending and I will post it here for anyone who is interested: Dear friends (this is a long email, but please read all the way through – it’s important),Thanks to those who have sent letters of support. However, the ante has been raised andthe Indy Winter Farmers Market needs your support at the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission meeting tonight. Despite the overwhelming support of the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association in a vote of membership last Tuesday, one individual resident continues to fight everything that happens with the development of the Chatham Center. This matter is of too great importance to the market and community … Read entire article »

Time for a link post. 2 new links have been added. Historic Indianapolis and INarchitecture. Both are written by experts in their field. Small farms are a quickly emerging sector in the U.S. Green Piece Indy has mentioned the Fall Creek Pilot Project, a bioretention area being planted this week at Fall Creek and College Avenue. A few months ago, GPI also mentioned Angelo’s Railroad and Trucking recovery, a place at 201 South College Avenue that sells goods that have been slightly damaged in shipping. On Friday, I stopped by the People for Urban Progress office. It’s located in a neat space in the Murphy building in Fountain Square. Indy’s ranked 44th out of 50 cities with regards to its green initiatives. I’m at least pleased to see some progress on this … Read entire article »

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results – Albert Einstein. This photo is a small sample to show that we may not be learning from our past development mistakes. The red lines at the corners show the new pavement edge, and the purple lines show the edges from last year. This is on West 16th street in Center Township. Fortunately, they have also widened the sidewalks, but … Read entire article »