Making Cities Livable and Lovable
During the opening session of the Livability Challenge in Indianapolis last week, The Trust for Public Land President Will Rogers urged us to use art, design and nature to make our cities not just livable but lovable.
Over the next three days, an inspiring group of national experts including Rogers, Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, David Rubin, partner at Olin, Deborah Marton, director of the Design Trust for Public Space, Lily Yeh, founder of Barefoot Artists, and Don Carter, director of the Remaking Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon, engaged in a series of conversations with local leaders to generate big ideas for cities to deliver beauty, in the form of art, good design and nature, to all citizens every day.
The result? Ten big ideas to shape the future of Indianapolis and help spark the imagination of urban leaders around the country, including refocusing on the center, reclaiming derelict strip centers, reconnecting with water and ensuring that every citizen is only a 10-minute walk from green space. The summary report and its implications for Indianapolis will be posted on November 3 on our website at http://www.ceosforcities.org/work/livability .
Thanks to the Indianapolis Cluster, led by Brian Payne, president of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, and his co-chair Tamara Zahn, president of Indianapolis Downtown Inc. for hosting the first of five such US Initiative Challenges. The groundwork they and their fellow local stakeholders have laid to make Indianapolis a city of inspiring places that is both livable and lovable was apparent to all who attended.
The Livability Challenge was made possible by generous support from The Rockefeller Foundation.
No comments yet.
