The Chatham Arch Question Gets an Answer
The Chatham Park development, hotly contested by CANA, goes before the Department of Metropolitan Development this Wednesday, February 1.
Author archives
I am an Indianapolis native who has lived in his HT off and on over the years, as well as the Deep South, the Northeast, and overseas. Trained in urban planning, I am less interested in macro/policy-level exploration of urban affairs. But when it comes to highly local and micro-level issues, you'll see me step up to the plate. The devil is in the details! My blog, American Dirt, explores landscapes urban and rural across the country (and a little bit abroad).
The Chatham Arch Question, Part II: What Are the Consequences of Low Density Just a Mile from the Heart of Downtown?
In the first half of this two-part series I looked at the prevailing mentality articulated by some of the most influential members of the Chatham Arch neighborhood, evidenced by the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association (CANA) and its near-unanimous opposition to the redevelopment of a long-vacant charter school site at 9th and East Streets, into a mix …
The Chatham Arch Question, Part I: Why, in Older, Formerly Crowded Districts, Is Density Still a Dirty Word?
What does it mean to be historic, when historic also was (at least back in the day) synonymous with “high density”–a phrase that is anathema to much of the Chatham Arch community today?
The Marietta Progresses and Raises New Questions About Mass Ave Infill.
A few years ago, I reported on what might at the time have seen like a pretty run-of-the-mill transaction: the Marott Center downtown getting sold by its law-firm owners to a company known as Gershman Partners. It was a long-established, smartly preserved building along Massachusetts Avenue that survived from its heyday. And at the end …
PODCAST: What are we going to do about all these dead malls?
It’s time to talk about the struggling mall typology in light of all the closures at Indianapolis’ downtown Circle Centre Mall.
City Market (Again): Maximizing the Tenant Potential.
I first featured the plight of the City Market on my personal blog, American Dirt, back in 2009, when it was in dire straits, just as it had been for many years. Decades, even. It was a pretty grim place: most of the perimeter simply offered unnecessary seating, the central vendor stalls were only-half full, …
The Case in Greenwood: Why America Deserves Its Retail Blight.
The local media thoroughly covered the City of Greenwood’s announcement that it had finally secured a developer for the site at the southeast corner of the I-65/County Line Road interchange—a tract where numerous proposals had come to light, most prominently featuring a Cabela’s. But, time and time again, none had materialized…part of the aftermath of …
Digital Archaeology through Google Street View
“The apple that’s fresh is ripe to the core, and I rot over time and I’m not anymore.†–Sloan & Pelling I’m probably a day late and a dollar short on noticing the time-scroll feature available with Google Street View. Perhaps it’s been there for months—years even. I just figured it out its full …
From Art to Ads: Commodifying Space at the Indy Airport.
A few years ago, the still shiny-and-new Indianapolis International Airport (IND) found itself at the center of a mild controversy. The Airport Authority announced, after just three years in operation, what for some people amounted to a pretty significant concession: it was replacing one of the most prominent artistic installations with a large flat screen …
When the Best Preservation Efforts Go Up in Smoke
One of our Urban Indy bloggers recently pointed out this lovingly restored double with Victorian touches, easily visible on Google Streetview as recently as the last camera run-through, waaaaay back in the summer of 2009. Even from the Google photo, it’s obvious that the restoration just took place; the paint is flawless, landscaping efforts haven’t …