Category «Neighborhoods»

Friday Fun: Confessions of an Urbanist

This is an idea we have kicked around in our blog’s e-mail threads.   I know that I personally do quite a few things out of character for a person who runs an urban affairs blog, and this is the post where I mention a few of them. 1.  Golf.  I play golf.  Not very often, …

16 Park and the MLK Memorial

Last month, I walked around the new 16 Park development. These apartments have replaced Caravelle Commons, which by most accounts has been a positive change for the neighborhood.  Here is the aerial photo of the property that has been affected, taken in spring of 2011: All of the buildings in the north of the aerial …

Urban Indy Turns 5

Today marks the five year anniversary of the day that I founded the blog.  Some blogs start with a fully formed sense of purpose and clearly stated goals.  Well, this isn’t one of those blogs.  Regardless of this inauspicious beginning, I hope the past five years of reading this blog have been as fun to …

Random Good News

I might be the only one excited about this, but here goes. Remember the great sign at the Polk Dairy Stables that I posted about in 2008? The sign was removed in 2009, which was concerning: I am happy to report that after a few years, the sign has been repaired.  This is a good …

Urban Living as Antidote to Oil Price Fluctuation

The national conversation that has surrounded the most recent gas price jumps has been predictably frustrating.  A whole lot of finger-pointing, but little self-analysis.  Perhaps the most frustrating aspect about this conversation is the lack of creative and constructive solutions for people who wish to inoculate themselves from price spikes.   We usually hear the …

A story of Reuse

Bricks all laid and sand poured in gaps (image credit: Curt Ailes)

  A couple of years ago, before I became so consumed by livability and sustainability issues, my wife and I decided that we wanted to put a new door on the back of our home. We removed an existing window, bought a pre-hung door, and with the help of a couple friends, spent the weekend …