Author archives

The creator and administrator for Urban Indy. I have a background in Geographic Information Systems, and a passion for promoting neighborhood redevelopment. Indianapolis deserves more voices encouraging it to move in a direction that encourages urban living, and this is the place for that discussion.

Amtrak Ridership is Up…

So let’s cut the funding. This video from CBS News does a good job of explaining the predicament of passenger rail in the United States. The figures near the end of the piece show some stark numbers: Amtrak receives 1.4 billion dollars per year (the same as it received in 1980), compared to 14.5 billion …

IndyGo Express Bus Exceeding Expectations

Or, “words that start with ‘ex’”. Anyways, it has to be seen as a positive sign that the Fishers-to-Indy express bus has been successful. 500 trips a day may not sound like much, but that’s 500 less cars on the road. Also, the demand will allow IndyGo to look in to expanding to other areas. …

Streetcars

A group known as “Downtown Indianapolis Streetcar Corp.” has quietly formed, and look to study possible routes. Of course, funding will be a tremendous hurdle, but at least people are looking into it. In other IBJ news, they’ve posted an article about Casa Verde. It’s good to see them get some publicity. This may be …

Thinking outside the box

The Chicago-based Where blog has an interesting and provocative post up concerning the sustainability of cities. In it, he mentions a new project in Madrid called the Air Tree. This project has to be seen to believed. This type of project can help give even hope to a long-term sustainability pessimist like yours truly. Humans …

Sunflower Market Closing

I figured I might as well post this here in case people missed it. I went to the Sunflower Market often, but I probably should have gone to Good Earth instead. The cashier told me that the Indy location was doing well, but it was a corporate decision based on the performance of all of …

Randomly Miscellaneous

A few updates: The renewable energy bill in the State Legislature has been rejected. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. David Crooks, refused to make concessions to the coal industry. A sizable project at 49th and College has been approved. I have mixed feelings about this, as the property has two four-squares and a bungalow that would …

Impact of "An Inconvenient Truth"

I have a friend (who reads this site) who is a Global Warming skeptic. I believe his skepticism may be warranted, even though I personally believe that the planet is warming and we are not helping the cause. However, he agrees with me that we should build a more sustainable environment. This is where I …

Revamped City Market

The long-delayed remodeling project in the City Market was finally completed a few months ago, and the old Market building is filling with vendors. It’s nice to see some life back in the old building, and word is that they will work on remodeling the East wing soon. There is a slew of new vendors …