urbanOut

A recent article in the Indianapolis Star got my attention and made me think about the Midwest, Indianapolis, Monument Circle, and how each geography relates to each other.  The article, titled “Let’s see world as it could be” by Dennis Ryerson discussed the recent “100 Most Creative People in Business” list from Fast Company magazine and how it contained only seven people from the Midwest.  Ryerson referred to noted urbanists Aaron Renn and Carl Wohlt’s break down of the list on Richard Longworth’s The Midwesterner blog, quoting their opinion from the piece “The Midwest’s Creative Winter:”

“”If nothing else, it suggests that the Midwest brand is held in low regard in many quarters. If the editors at Fast Company look at the Midwest this way, it’s safe to assume many others do as well. At some point perception becomes reality, as people don’t even put the Midwest on the list for a relocation or business expansion decision. It becomes a great gaping hole in mental geography of global investors. . . . “

Ryerson then went on to call for an end to Midwestern smugness in Indianapolis, a shedding of the “good enough” mentality, and a call to become more aware of what other places and people are doing in other parts of the country and world.  Ryerson says:  “I want you to see not only the world as it is but the world as it could be, in terms of everything from education to technology to the latest in food and design. I want you to see the traditions we cherish, as well as the challenges we face.”   I couldn’t agree more with what Ryerson is saying and I can’t help but see parallels between his words, the stagnant Midwest brand Renn and Wholt suggest, and the Monument Circle overhaul debate that is taking place.    

Thus far, the Monument Circle overhaul debate has gone as follows: the City rolled out a lackluster plan to close Monument Circle to traffic for one month to essentially ‘see what happens,’ the public and business owners cried foul (loudly), eventually the City backed off their initial ideas, and now they are back to the drawing board trying to come up with a plan to reinvent or reorient the Circle.  While I am happy to see the City taking an initiative to create an even better Monument Circle, I have yet to see a true vision set forth, something that is absolutely necessary in achieving a critical mass of support and eventual success.  If there is one thing I know about urban planning, it’s the importance of the visioning process and the need to set an overall goal for a project that is far-reaching, all-encompassing, and forms the debate for action to take place.  This vision is something that is missing from the current debate and something planners need to inject immediately. 

To achieve this vision, the City needs to look elsewhere for inspiration.  As Ryerson suggested, we need to “see the world as it could be,” – we need to see what other places have done to create better, more lively public spaces and try to understand what can be learned and applied to Monument Circle.  What can be learned from Times Square in New York, Fountain Square in Cincinnati, or Castro Commons in San Francisco?  These questions must be asked right now, we must learn from other place’s successes and mistakes, and we must apply these lessons to the visioning process for Monument Circle.  Essentially, we have to look elsewhere for ideas because, as Ryerson put it: “We can learn from them every bit as much as they can learn from us.” 

(For some ideas on what I think should be a part of the Monument Circle vision, check out my recent post on the topic.) 

If the City does this and brings in new ideas and a substantial vision, I believe Monument Circle can live up to its world-class design and become a world-class public space.  With this type of change to the symbol of the Circle City, maybe Indianapolis can begin defining itself differently, position a uniqueness and niche for great public spaces, and shed the Midwest brand it is currently stuck with, a brand that Renn and Wholt suggests is “held in low regard.”  Ultimately, I think this is critical for the future of the City, especially considering the growth the region is seeing and the expectation of ‘bigger and better’ that comes with such growth.  But to reiterate, in order for this to happen, the City must bring in new ideas from spaces around the country and set forth a strong and promising vision for the Circle’s future.  Without this, any improvement is likely to reflect the current Midwest brand: mediocrity.