As part of an ongoing series to promote the non-profit Every Body Walk, I wanted to bring attention to their exciting Campaign Launch Week to be held in Washington D.C. this week from September 19-23, 2011.  As I have covered before, Every Body Walk is an online educational campaign aimed at getting Americans up and walking by encouraging increased exercise as well as supporting walkable communities.  Their first annual campaign week will include a number of events, speakers, and activities all aimed at raising awareness to the health and community benefits of getting people to walk more on a daily basis.

This is a cause I whole heartedly support and a topic I have written about extensively in my ‘Car Free in Indy’ series on urbanOut and am thus excited to see large non-profits sprout up like Every Body Walk.  And it is doubly exciting to see them put significant energy behind their message, something that will be showcased in the campaign launch week when a number of experts and advocates in related fields are brought together to move the conversation forward on walkability issues in the United States.

While this is in no way an exhaustive list of every event or rally, below is a highlight of key happenings during Every Body Walk’s Campaign Launch Week:

Every Body Walk! Launch Event and Reception – Monday, September 19th

This event will officially kick off the week and begin the outreach campaign to encourage people to walk more in their daily lives.  The reception will include introductions from Every Body Walk spokesperson Bob Sallis and key partners including the Brookings Institute, Smart Growth America, Rails to Trails, Let’s Move, among others.  During this time, an introduction to Every Body Walk’s mobile app and a video from Will Ferrell’s company Funny or Die will launch.

EBW! presents: Summit on Walking – Tuesday, September 20th

Activists, scientists, doctors, foundations, community organizers, school teachers, researchers, human resources experts, economists, city planners, parents – all have one thing in common: the desire for walkable cities and neighborhoods to create lives that blend life and work in harmony.  This summit will discuss these issues and tie them to varying angles around the health benefits of walking.  Experts in the field, many of whom are participating in the short films and upcoming documentary film to the same topic will be participating.  This includes Rails to Trails, District Department of Transportation, Brookings Institute, Let’s Move, Safe Routes to School and more.

Documentary Film Screening and Reception – Thursday, September 22nd

The official Every Body Walk! Documentary will debut on Thursday of the Campaign week with a 30-min advance screening along with 60 minutes of conversation on walking.  This event will feature Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General, representatives from the Brookings Institute, the DOT, Smart Growth America, America Walks, and moderated by Rob Sallis from Every Body Walk.

EBW’s Campaign Launch Week, sponsored by Gerber Rigler, is happening thanks to numerous public and private partners, including Discovery Networks, Funny or Die, DC Blogs, DOT, Rails to Trails, Brookings Institute, America Walks, Trust for Public Land, Friends of the Highline, City Parks Alliance, Let’s Move and the corporate brands of FedEx, Toyota, Puma, Walmart and Verizon among others.

For more information on EBW! Week, check out their website here for coverage as well as specifics on the time and place of events and speeches.  It is sure to be a very interesting and educational week for walkability in the United States and something I am excited to both promote and be a part of.

At this point, most Americans have heard of the country’s struggle with obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.  No statistic highlights this problem better than America’s increasing obesity rates: in the 1980’s only one state had obesity rates above 20%; today 49 states do.  Time and time again, the blame for this goes to fast food and dietary control matters, with little mention of urban planning policy and how that plays into the issue.  Many urbanists believe there is in fact a direct correlation between this public health crisis and urban planning, citing the decrease in walkable community development and increased reliance on the automobile as reasons people lead increased sedentary lifestyles and are becoming more obese.

Fortunately, this connection has really began to catch on in planning circles as seen in new urbanism developments across the country and the residential growth of central cities across America.  And now, national non-profits are starting to push for more responsible urban development, promoting that angle a way towards decreasing the nation’s soaring obesity rates by allowing people to walk not just for pleasure, but as a means of transportation and for running daily errands.  One group that is starting to let its voice be heard in this national conversation is Every Body Walk, a non-profit dedicated to getting America up and moving, one way or another.

Every Body Walk’s main mission is to encourage every American to walk at least 30 minutes a day.  Their campaign arose because more than 70% of adult Americans currently lead sedentary lifestyles. This is having a direct impact on the overall health of our country, which spends $2.5 trillion annually on medical care.  An estimated 80% of that figure is spend on treating chronic conditions that can be prevented or treated by regular walking habits.

Thus Every Body Walk was born, an online educational campaign aimed at getting Americans up and walking.  A walking hub, www.everybodywalk.org, features news and resource on walking, health information, walking maps, how to find walking groups, a personal pledge form to start walking as well as a place to share stories about individual experiences with walking.  Plus, they are currently developing a mobile app for keeping people on track to walk more in their daily lives.  For urbanists out there, the site is a great one-stop shop for learning about America’s most walkable cities, neighborhood walk scores, and organizations and blogs who promote walkable communities and urban development.

To stay up-to-date on everything Every Body Walk, follow them on Twitter (@everybodywalk) or visit their Facebook page.  They are spearheading a truly ambitious campaign and one of particular importance, not just for the physical health and well-being of our populace, but also the well-being of walkable communities in America.  So please get the word out on Every Body Walk, a great cause worth supporting.

• Step One – Open your eyes
• Step Two – Take note of the streets, neighborhoods, and cities that attract investment, have strong sense of place characteristics, and are aesthetically pleasing
• Step Three – Emulate them
• Step Four – Done!

And yet, my recent move to the Northern Liberties neighborhood in Philadelphia has brought me back to reality and made me realize that maybe this isn’t such a simple concept and maybe my snobbery has clouded better judgment.  Essentially, my first impression is that the neighborhood has been inundated with urban infill that diminishes the great forms that already exist and therefore threaten the very reason the area has attracted so much investment to begin with.

To understand why this is happening in a place like Northern Liberties takes a bit of storytelling.  A long time ago, in the 1990’s, Philadelphia’s Center City started becoming extensively gentrified, modernized and no longer affordable to the masses.  As real estate prices increased, this effect began spilling out into surrounding neighborhoods, eventually landing in Northern Liberties just north of Old City.  Since the 1950’s, the neighborhood has seen its fair share of demolitions and neglect, leaving large swaths of land ripe for large-scale redevelopment.  This fact coupled with gentrification pressures moving into the neighborhood bore the fruit of large-scale urban infill development throughout Northern Liberties.

This is where the spotty infill comes into the story, a phenomenon that seemed to happen for three reasons:

1. There wasn’t enough regulation or strong enough a Neighborhood Plan to enforce better infill standards from the onset
2. The developer’s are likely not attuned to what types of forms make a great neighborhood
3. The individual developer is more concerned with their bottom line than creating a cohesive neighborhood and thus uses ‘edgy’ materials and irregular building placements as a marketing tool to stand out in the crowd rather than fit in.

While I am sure individual developers have had immense profits from their developments throughout Northern Liberties, the collective neighborhood has been left with a number of issues, outlined in the series of images below:

Garage doors abound on ground floor residential streets, with no entrance articulation

Buildings are positioned at odd angles and do not provide cohesive urban building walls

Buildings ignore street corners

Cheap materials

Buildings don’t address public parks (this sits across the street from Northern Liberties premiere park)

Creates monotonous walls that don’t activate the ROW

Poor parking design

All of these examples, while individually annoying, collectively make for a bigger problem and create an urban realm that seems more like an odd patchwork collection of buildings than a unified district.  I am not calling for building or material monotony; I am simply stating the need for a more cohesive product that achieves a sustainable neighborhood worth caring about long-term.  My fear is that because a unified district is not being recreated in many Northern Liberties streets, overall sense of place will suffer and in 30 years the area will once again fall into neglect and disrepair.

All is not lost though as the neighborhood still has many opportunities to fill in the fabric gaps that still exist.  But post-recession, investment seems to be picking up steam again and new infill projects are constantly rising from the ground.  Therefore, the neighborhood needs to develop even better standards for urban infill projects; ones that compliment the very reason infill is happening to begin with: the existing historic fabric already in place.  My hope is that this can happen and Northern Liberties can maintain and build upon its current upswing for many years to come.

If you have ever read this blog and followed the ‘Walking the Walk’ series about being car-free in Indy, you know that my walking habits rarely veered away from a few key streets in Downtown.  For two years this was the life I lived, with no real desire to wander off course.  But since June of this year, all that changed when my life took a significant detour off my normal walking routes and landed me in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I now live.  Earlier this year, I pursued a career opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.  After a long interview process, a lot of waiting around, and traveling to and from Philadelphia I eventually landed the job I sought out.  I now work for a national planning and urban design firm in Center City, Philadelphia and am still trying to adjust to my new life and figure out the best walking routes to work (well…more like the best subway routes).  With this detour away from Indiana and the Midwest came the realization that I must say goodbye to what was my home for the past two years.  But as of now, I’m not sure how to say goodbye to Indianapolis.

I guess I have one of those ‘love-hate’ relationships with the City; so much so that I find myself torn between wanting to say “goodbye I will miss you – stay in touch” and “it’s not you, it’s me; don’t call me, I’ll call you.”  For me to sort through this ambivalence I think a thorough list of the pros and cons of Indianapolis is required.

First the pros.  I love Indianapolis because ultimately, the City will always be my city of firsts: my first big job out of school, my first apartment all to my self, my first car-free lifestyle experience, my first blog about urbanism, etc.  These coming-of-age ‘firsts’ allowed me to become a stronger individual and develop a truer personal identity.  So thank you Indianapolis for being the platform for these important ‘firsts’ in my young adult life, I truly appreciate it.

As these amorous feelings begin to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I am quickly reminded of the dichotomous relationship I have with the Circle City and begin to think that maybe it’s a better idea to coldly text “goodbye” from my East Coast digs and never look back – simple and swift.

Now the cons.  As an urban planner and designer and a self-proclaimed progressive in the field, I found Indianapolis frustrating, sometimes excruciatingly so.  Among my like-minded peers, these sentiments are typical in mid-sized, newer Midwest cities like Columbus, Kansas City, and Des Moines where there is an urban legacy shortage on amenities such as a strong public transit system, high quality urban designs, and high residential densities.  Therefore, there seems to be little dialogue on improving such amenities because, without a point of past reference, things are all-too-often seen as ‘fine as is’.  And when there actually is a fair amount of dialogue, it is often met with strong resistance and bickering, eventually resulting in a product or improvement that is heavily watered down.  Yes, it is fair to say I am thus far enjoying living in Philadelphia where these amenities are the rule not the exception.

So ok, I know I just seriously ragged on Indianapolis for the better part of the last paragraph.  But upon further reflection regarding this issue of frustration and malaise with regard to urban planning progressivity in the City, I can’t help but also think that this downside, with all its implied shortcomings, is also what makes Indianapolis very intriguing.  Given the size of Indianapolis, what better place to stand up, actually be heard, and make a difference on progressive urban issues?  Whereas it seems rather easy to get lost in the shuffle in bigger cities like Philadelphia or New York, the progressive urbanist community in Indianapolis is smaller, providing an excellent arena to sharpen your point-of-view and make a difference on these issues moving forward.  On top of this, the City provides a relative ‘blank canvas’ to work with, allowing progress to happen more quickly as opposed to other cities like Cincinnati and Cleveland where legacy costs and larger bureaucracies are more of an issue.

Ok, reflection time is over, for now anyway.  In the end, I suppose the aforementioned cons of Indianapolis have, by the end of my reflection, turned into yet another pro for the City and why I see so much potential there.  So it looks like my relationship with Indy won’t end via any awkward texts; no short emails; no uncomfortable phone calls.  Instead, I’ll simply say “I’ll see you later.”  I hope the City feels the same.

I could have easily called this piece: “Census Confirms Economic Development Potential of Cincinnati Streetcar” or maybe: “Cincinnati Streetcar Would Connect City’s Fastest Growing Neighborhoods.”    Anyway you title it, the 2010 Census results have shown that Cincinnati’s two fastest growing neighborhoods are downtown and Uptown around the University of Cincinnati.  These population growth trends are expectedly similar to  rust belt counterparts, as cities like St. Louis, Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh are all experiencing strong growth in or around their downtown and university areas.

Unlike these other cities though, Cincinnati is attempting to connect its two fastest growing neighborhoods, circled below in Image One, with a modern streetcar system.  Independent studies by the University of Cincinnati as well as HDR Economics have concluded that the streetcar will create significant economic development along its route.  The 2010 Census results adds valuable information to the discussion, proving that there is a rapidly growing market for improved transit options at either end of the route (downtown and Uptown).  Therefore, what the Census is telling us is that the streetcar project might even create more economic development than initially anticipated by the independent studies, as simple economics would tell you that connecting the City’s two fastest growing neighborhoods through improved transportation would create synergy between the two areas and compound existing population growth trends.

Despite the facts concerning economic benefits and the Cincinnati Streetcar, the project faces unprecedented attacks just before it is to begin construction. Ohio’s newly elected Governor John Kasich (R) is attempting to yank the already promised $52 million in state administered funds for the streetcar and state Senator Shannon Jones (R) recently introduced an amendment to the state transportation bill stating that “no state or federal funds may be encumbered, transferred or spent pursuant to this or any other appropriations act for the Cincinnati Streetcar Project.”

Despite these attacks, Cincinnatians remain hopeful that the project will receive the already promised $52 million in state administered funds and begin construction this spring.  Without these funds the streetcar may still get built through a combination of already secured local and federal dollars but on a much smaller scale.

As it stands today, the streetcar would connect Cincinnati’s riverfront, downtown, Over-the-Rhine (OTR), and Uptown communities around the University of Cincinnati.  Without the state funds the leg to Uptown would likely be eliminated, and the riverfront-downtown-OTR loop would be all she wrote for the project’s first phase.  Even though this scenario would still be an economic boon, the City would lose out on creating economic synergy between it’s two fastest growing neighborhoods, compounding growth would not occur and the potential of the streetcar wouldn’t be fully realized, at least not in its first phase.

Cincinnati elected officials, business leaders, and University leadership need to be up-in-arms about the possibility of losing the already promised $52 million for the streetcar.  So too should the citizens of Cincinnati.  The Transportation Review Advisory Committee (TRAC) votes on final budget approval April 12 in Columbus.  At this time the streetcar money could remain where it is and go towards the project or it could be diverted to road projects throughout the state.  If the Governor’s dictatorial demands are met, expect the project to lose out on most or all of the $52 million.  If you care about the future of Cincinnati and its urban core, please attend the April 12 TRAC board meeting in Columbus.  The future of Cincinnati and rail transit in Ohio depends on it.

First the good news:  the downtowns of Ohio’s three major cities, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, all saw significant population growth between 2000 and 2010.  As shown in the image below, the varying census tracts in each city’s downtown grew anywhere from 30-35% in Cincinnati, 20-45% in Columbus and as high as 88% in one census tract in downtown Cleveland.  These numbers should come as no surprise to those who have been following the Census results up until now as almost all major cities across the country are seeing a strong resurgence of population in their downtowns.  These trends are showing up first in downtowns as they are the most cosmopolitan part of a region where the urban experience can best be lived.  This is where people think of when they dream of living Carrie Bradshaw’s fabulous urban lifestyle.  But perhaps even more important, these results signify American’s increasing desire for walkable urban neighborhoods with character, something city neighborhoods need to realize and capitalize on in the next ten-plus years as well.

Now the bad news: As showcased in the three images below, in their entirety, the urban cores of Ohio’s three major cities, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, all are losing population at alarming rates.  The City of Cleveland lost nearly 1/5 of its population in the past ten years, Cincinnati nearly 1/10^th, and Columbus’s urban core seems to have lost population as well, although the City itself actually gained population due to its annexation policies. This trend is not unique to the three C’s as all of Ohio’s major cities and many more across the country are seeing dramatic urban core population decreases.  These trends prove that the ‘return to the city’ movement that many urbanists have been heralding for the past ten years is not as significant as originally expected.  On top of the crippling effects exurban sprawl has on a region, another likely reason for this alarming trend is because the physical character of the urban core neighborhoods has deteriorated so much that they no longer afford citizens the desired urban lifestyle found downtown.  Fortunately, each city’s urban core still features ‘good bones’ to work with, giving them an advantage over suburban counterparts as American’s increasingly desire walkable neighborhoods with character.

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Moving forward, Ohio must realize the need for a more urban product throughout their core – one that caters to an urban lifestyle and creates vibrant districts like those found in regional downtowns.  This means creating and implementing urban policy that allows for a greater mix of uses, higher densities, and better transit.  Whether or not Ohio policy makers understand the need for these policies is an entire post for another day, but if they do not wake up to this reality, Ohio’s urban successes will continue to be contained in small geographic areas and the rest of each cities urban core  will hemorrhage population, a burden Ohio cannot afford.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Tripoli, Libya for a business trip. I went because I am working on a project to build an entirely new city of 120,000 people on the Mediterranean Sea just outside Tripoli. I went into the experience with certain expectations and understandings of urban life in this part of the world but had to see it firsthand if I am going to be designing a new city here. So I went, I met with a lot of people and government officials, I explored a lot of neighborhoods, and came away with a better understanding of what is going on in Tripoli, so I thought I’d share some thoughts and insight.

One of the first things I noticed was the purposeful and sharp distinctions made between contrasting ways of life and urban forms. First, Arabic culture seems to draw a rigid line between private and personal life. Residential streets are characterized by wall after wall abutting the sidewalk, usually 10 feet in height, and separating private residences and courtyards from the public realm. Private life is cherished and respected, perhaps because the public realm is chaotic, busy, and compact. Conversely, private life seems more orderly, rigid, and defined. With this, there also seems to be a clear delineation between use of spaces and places, and the idea of mixed-use is not as common place as it is in the United States. Yes, it does exist (and to a greater extent than Indianapolis, Indiana mind you) but there seems to be clearly defined zones of activity more so than I would have expected. Finally, there is also a clear separation between women and men in social situations. The cafes, markets, and mosques are a man’s world while the private residential compound is a woman’s. These distinctions, considered normal in the Middle East, would never be promoted in the U.S., as they fly in the face of New Urbanism principles of the 21st Century.

Other things I noticed were unique urban forms I had never come across before. This probably has to do with my limited traveling throughout the Middle East but I also think it’s because Tripoli hasn’t been hit with a mass-tourism wave like so many other places in the world, so their center city is not squeaky clean, picture perfect, or ‘Disney-fied’ like so many European cities. Thus, it has held onto its uniqueness and originality, making it extremely beautiful, charming, and endlessly interesting in its own right. The medina or ‘Old City’ or Souq is an extremely dense, pedestrian only part of the city where numerous large markets converge, making this medina the largest in Libya. It is an urban environment I had never quite experienced before and its vibrancy, integrity, and amazing sense-of-place blew me away. It is a place you could go to over and over and find something new to discover every time. There is no doubt that Tripoli’s medina is a point of pride for the region and is something that ought to be celebrated and preserved for years to come.

Unfortunately, in Gaddafi’s attempt to ‘modernize’ Libya, it seems the country is trying to go the way of Doha or Dubai. While driving around the city, I noticed billboard after billboard of some monstrosity being built along the coast or around the center city. These projects are often in the place of old neighborhoods that have been entirely demolished, making way for monotonous ‘starchitecture’ skyscrapers that do little for urban environments, cut off pedestrian activity, and thus limit social interaction. Sure, they look amazing from a mile away, but up close they’re all a mess, with no activity or anything of interest happening around them; it’s artificial, not natural. If Tripoli isn’t careful and if these trends continue, the city will eventually demolish themselves into cultural bankruptcy, losing who they are and where they came from. As I have said before and I’ll say it again: 21st Century urbanism – no matter where you are in the world – ought to protect and enhance uniqueness instead of conforming to homogeneity and sameness.

Check out this website for a better understanding of modern Middle East urban policies and how Doha has indiscriminately demolished large swaths of their urban environment, all in the name of ‘progress.’

Hopefully Tripoli and Libya in general will open their eyes and see Dubai, Doha, and Abu-Dhabi as examples and case studies of what not to do and decide to go their own way, preserving the Libyan culture and protecting the great urban forms that presently exist. Below are pictures that celebrate the uniqueness and great urban forms of Tripoli. Enjoy!

As many Urban Indy readers are well aware by now, the 2010 Census information for Indiana was released, giving the general public a statistical snapshot of the state’s economic and demographic standing. Indiana is one of the first states to have their 2010 numbers released, with many other states coming online throughout the duration of 2011. Certainly, this is an exciting time for urban planners, geographers, economists, and any other data junkie who gets as excited to study and sift through new Census data as others do the Super Bowl. The reason for excitement surrounding new Census information lies behind the significance and political ramifications the ‘event’ brings. As an added bonus, the Census shows us micro and macroeconomic trends, migration shifts and gives us insight into population growers and showers.

For Indiana, the 2010 Census information delivers on excitement, teaching us a number of lessons that are sure to have political and monetary ramifications for the next ten years. One lesson that planners in particular are sure to be excited about is the revelation that people increasingly desire walkable urban neighborhoods.

When you begin to analyze the population trends in Indiana and zero in on the Indianapolis Metropolitan region, you can’t help but notice a sea of red census tracts in the center of the region surrounded by a sea of blue tracts. This color pattern indicates the region’s urban core continues to bleed population out to suburban and exurban areas in the form of sprawl. But look a little closer and two glimmers of hope, census tracts 354200 and 351600, prove that all is not lost in the fight against suburban sprawl. Tract 354200 encompasses the Northeast Quadrant of downtown Indianapolis, an area centralized around Mass Ave, a mixed-use corridor known for its art scene, restaurants, and walkable neighborhoods. The other glimmer of hope, Census tract 351600 includes the Fall Creek Place neighborhood, an area that has seen dramatic gentrification, investment and densification in recent years.

Interestingly, these two census tracts make up arguably the city’s most walkable, densely populated neighborhoods and offer quality of life characteristics not found elsewhere. Amidst a sea of red, these two neighborhoods have managed to buck the trend and grow (quite substantially) in population over the past ten years. So why are these areas growing while the rest of Indianapolis’s urban core loses population? The answers seem to be characteristics that Mass Ave and Fall Creek Place have in common (of course) which are: walkability, access to cultural institutions, unique sense of place and the ability to offer a truly urban way of life. When looking at other census releases across the country similar trends have been identified, indicating that Indianapolis is seeing what the rest of the nation is seeing: the continued rise in popularity of walkable areas that offer urban lifestyle opportunities.

Marion County as a whole (the central core county of Indianapolis) has grown over the past ten years, most of which occurring on the County fringe areas outside of the urban core. And when compared to the region’s collar, suburban counties, Marion County is a growth laggard, seeing an increase less than 5% while growth leader Hamilton County saw a greater than 50% population increase. With suburban sprawl continuing unabated and Marion County lacking the greenfields necessary for suburban expansion, central Indiana’s core county has to start taking proactive measures to curb the outward population growth trends in Central Indiana.

Since suburban development is not a substantial or legitimate option in Marion County, a differing product has to be offered that is a proven competitor with the suburban model. This is where the 2010 Census and its associated ‘exciting’ lessons come into play. The Indiana Census has revealed that walkable, urban neighborhoods like Mass Ave and Fall Creek Place are the product that people increasingly desire. This is the urban form that needs to be replicated if Marion County wants to stand a chance at curbing the current population trends that favor collar counties.

A more ‘urban product’ features an improved mass transit system, urban land use planning, increased density, heightened urban design regulations, and neighborhood identity. Pushing these types of initiatives will prove difficult, as dramatic change is almost always met with hesitation and fear. But to do nothing will prove detrimental in the long run and the urban core’s population will continue to hemorrhage. Excitement aside, we must learn from the Census, see the successes around Mass Ave and Fall Creek Place and begin developing and offering similar quality of life characteristics Countywide.

Image Source

In a fitting turn of events, the decision to pedestrianize Monument Circle has come full circle with the announcement that Indianapolis’s premiere public space will be closed off to auto travel during the week-long run-up to the Super Bowl next February.  According to Super Bowl Host Committee CEO Allison Melangton, the Committee is trying to raise money for a major entertainment endeavor on Monument Circle prior to the Super Bowl that would close the space to vehicular traffic, turning the Circle into a pedestrian mall.  According to Melangton, the Circle would be used for music activities and other major venues that would be a part of overall Super Bowl festivities.

The idea of pedestrianizing Monument Circle first arose during the early summer of 2010 when the City floated the idea of closing the Circle to cars for the month of August to effectively ‘see what happens.’  Following this announcement, considerable controversy and uproar arose and in no time the City backed away from the idea, stating that other options would instead be looked at to improve and upgrade Monument Circle.  But seven months later and here we are again discussing the space’s pedestrianization, but this time, with a program of activities included to ensure the space is constantly activated.

From a city marketing perspective, a pedestrianized Monument Circle, the new and improved Georgia Street and the world-class Cultural Trail will provide Super Bowl attendees a compact, pedestrian oriented experience that will separate Indianapolis from other host cities like Dallas and Miami.  From an urban design standpoint, the Circle overhaul builds on the pedestrianization acceleration movement occurring in cities like San Francisco and their Pavement to Parks initiative and New York’s Times Square redesign.  With its fair share of place pedestrianization occurring, Indianapolis will soon have a strong case for having the Midwest’s best downtown public spaces.

It is encouraging that the idea to ban cars from the Circle, even if just for a week, has not been entirely shelved as it is a step in a positive direction for the City’s public realm.  Hopefully this announcement will refuel the interest behind pedestrianizing the Circle, forcing the City to get serious about making it permanent, something that could be a major boon for downtown Indianapolis’s future image.  And if done correctly, pedestrianizing Monument Circle on a full-term basis would perhaps be the most innovative idea ever implemented in Indianapolis.  Where else in the Midwest can you find a piazza-esque pedestrian only public plaza in the heart of downtown?  This would set the city apart from its counterparts and set the bar for quality public spaces in the Midwest.  But as it stands today, the Circle is not ready for such a drastic change.  The following points briefly outline improvements that must take place in order for a long-term pedestrianization of the Circle to be successful:

• The city needs to work with building owners that directly front the circle and transform the ground level space into pedestrian retail that spills out onto the Circle;
• The Circle needs more programmed activities and on a regular basis, not just for special events;
• Monument Circle needs a management group that oversees events, programming, maintenance and security.  Essentially, they would be in charge of programming the space and raising money and finding sponsors to fund such events; and
• Changes outlined in the first three bullet points need to be a part of an overall design overhaul of the Circle.  Change needs to take place all at once to create increased excitement and energy in the district.

The Super Bowl is a culmination of a long and extremely successful effort to define Indianapolis as a sports town.  But as the City grows beyond this identity and matures into a bigger and better version of its current self, more improvements need to be made to make the City more urban, more compact, more cosmopolitan, more mature.  Pedestrianizing Monument Circle, implementing a public space plan, and creating a legacy of premiere public spaces would go a long way towards helping Indianapolis achieve such goals.