Blog
Design Competition Winners Focus on Human Scale
Posted by Shayna Pollock on June 17, 2011 |
The winners of Indianapolis' Monument Circle Idea Competition were revealed Wednesday. An article in the Indianapolis Business Journal reported that, "the competition, announced in March, came about after Indianapolis hosted a CEOs for Cities event last October that brought together local stakeholders and national experts to brainstorm ideas for making cities more livable." The group of urban leaders present at the US Initiative Livability Challenge wanted to better utilize Monument Circle, so they held a worldwide design competition. The judges chose a total of twelve dynamic finalists, whose ideas are displayed around Monument Circle.
The contest also awarded cash prizes to the top three finalists. The first place idea by Jean-Baptiste Cuelle and Francois David, entitled "From Inertia to Inner Circle," suggested opening the circle to more pedestrian interaction. The second place idea by Ratio Architects’ Urban Design Studio, "RE:Centering Indianapolis 1001," proposed small changes to increase pedestrian activity and introduce sidewalk cafes. The third place idea by Studio Three Architects, "Nexus: Indianapolis," presented a plan for making the Northwest quadrant pedestrian only.
Planners working on the future of Monument Circle hope to incorporate some of the ideas from the competition, which all aim to increase livability through enhanced pedestrian activity, expanded…
What Indy (& Other Cities) Can Learn From Portland
Posted by Shayna Pollock on June 07, 2011 |
Jim Walker, a CEOs for Cities Indianapolis cluster member, expounds on the virtues of Portland, which he explored during the Spring 2011 Spring National Meeting, in an article in the Indianapolis Star. Through the lens of Portland's regional growth boundary, vibrancy and livability, central city transportation, and walking and cycling culture, the article applies lessons learned from Portland to Indianapolis. By adapting Portland's many successes in building quality of place, Walker discusses ways to improve Indianapolis, which already has a thriving art scene. Walker's article is just one example of the many ways that CEOs for Cities partners are working to make their cities "a place anyone would love to call home."
Indianapolis Launches Placemaking Competition
Posted by Shayna Pollock on March 10, 2011 |
One Big Idea that came out of the US Initiative Livability Challenge came to fruition this week when the Indianapolis Downtown Inc. launched the Monument Circle Idea Competition. The placemaking initiative is seeking constructive assessments “to inform future planning and uses for Monument Circle.” An article in the Indianapolis Star reports that minor tweaks stemming from the competition “would go a long way toward drawing more people to the Downtown landmark and keeping them there.” The competition, which will award a $5,000 prize to the contestant who enters the best idea for improving Monument Circle, hopes to generate ideas to make Indianapolis’ most recognizable landmark an important component of an increasingly vibrant and thriving city center.
Changing the Way a Community Sees Itself
Posted by Julia Klaiber on December 21, 2010 |
Brian Payne, President of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and leader of CEOs for Cities' Indianapolis Cluster, was the keynote speaker at the City of Calgary's 2010 Centre City Congress. Speaking to a sold out audience, Brian showcased the nationally renowned Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a "big idea" he says has not only connected people to downtown but also changed the way the community sees itself.
A recap of his remarks is available here and you can view his presentation below.
The Livability Game-Changer
Posted by Julia Klaiber on October 25, 2010 |
We couldn't have asked for more from the Livability Challenge than to leave our host city with the inspiration and momentum captured by this column in NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis' alternative newspaper.
In reflecting upon our ambition for the challenge - to make beauty, in the form of art, good design and nature, always present - NUVO contributing editor David Hoppe singled out the word "beauty" as a game-changer not just for Indy, but for American cities writ large. He writes:
"Making beauty the governing principle in how we think about city livability is a bold move. Its practicality is breathtakingly sensible. It begs the question: Where would you rather live, in a beautiful place or an ugly one?"
The Livability Challenge took place in Indianapolis on Oct 11-13. For more on the proceedings, including downloadable presentations, visit the US Initiative website.
From the Tweetdeck of @ccoletta at The Livability Challenge
Posted by Julia Klaiber on October 13, 2010 |
Tweeting from the Livability Challenge in Indianapolis, CEOs for Cities president and CEO Carol Coletta had this to say:
• 100 Acres, the Indianapolis Art and Nature Park, is a stunning asset. It must be connected to the city's trail system.
• Think of the city as a park. #cities
• "The U.S. is overstored by 30%." Carnegie Mellon's Don Carter at Indy CEOs for Cities Livability Challenge #cities
• Why not rain gardens all along the edges of 38th St. corridor? Get fed $$ to pay for stormwater benefits. #cities
• "When you have Turkish food trucks replacing Tavern on the Green, you know the world has changed." Adrian Benepe at CEOs for Cities.
• Adrian Benepe is sharing an "out of the big box" idea that converts decayed strip malls to food production centers. #cities
• Many cities are grappling w/what to do with '30s, 40s, 50s public spaces that are massive but that are not used.
• "In Indianapolis, you have some of the best neo-classical public space in the country. "- NYC Parks Guru Adrian Benepe #cities
• Ideas competitions are a good way to start a conversation about a project and its potential.
• Can Monument Circle (or any great public space needing fresh attention) become the place where all livability principles are demonstrated?
• Can we think about an arts system similar to green systems?
• Lily Yeh: Transform brokenness through art (and she has done it).
• Lily Yeh: In places where you don't know what to do, you can experiment and explore with art.
• Adrian Benepe: What's here now that we can work w/? How do we build coalition of existing interests? (This is why he gets so much done)
• NYC Parks Department runs the nation's largest welfare to work program. 6,000 "graduates" a yr. That's astonishing. #cities
• TPL Will Rogers: We should aspire to green space within a 10-minute walk of any citizen in any city.
• Adrian Benepe: Need to have aspirations around open space. Doesn't have to be expensive. School playgrnds, comm gardens, pop ups
Beautiful Indianapolis
Posted by Julia Klaiber on October 13, 2010 |
The Indianapolis Star published this great photo this great photo Livability Challenge participants biking the famed Indianapolis Cultural Trail. When asked after the tour concluded what he thought, The Trust for Public Land president Will Rogers quipped, "Why are we here?" Clearly this is a city that has already put a stake in the ground for aesthetics, putting the ambition to make art, good design and nature always present seem not so far out of reach after all.
More Video from the Talent Dividend Tour
Posted by Sheila Redick on July 20, 2009 | News
On a recent stop on the now 30-city Talent Dividend tour (generously sponsored by The Lumina Foundation for Education and, in part, by DeVry Inc.), Brian Payne of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Charles Bantz at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, and David Dressler with the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at University of Indianapolis (a tour de force of civic leadership) guided a 40-member group of community leaders to a consensus decision to adopt the Talent Dividend as a short-term goal, while everyone in the room continues to work on the long-term issues associated with getting more people through college.
Watch a short video of this visit below and find out more about the Talent Dividend tour here.