Last spring, Indy's Office of Sustainability director, Melody Park, visited SPEA for an EMSDA event. She was very helpful and informative during the visit, and I, for one, found her talk very interesting. So, when EMSDA wanted to travel to Indy to visit her office, I was pretty excited for the chance to scope out the scene.
SustainIndy and Melody believe there is a "trifecta" of sustainability where environment, economic, and social aspects all meet. They believe sustainability cannot be successful without all of these components. This reminded me of the very beginning of our Roseland book where the different types of capital were discussed. In Roseland, they discuss six different types of capital: cultural, natural, physical, economic, human, and social. SustainIndy's philosophy encompasses the economic, social, and perhaps, natural capital. Certain SustainIndy projects have encapsulated more types of capital, for instance the Cultural Trail, which connects 6 cultural districts in Indy.
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| Picture of the Indy Cultural Trail From: http://indyculturaltrail.org/support/volunteer/ |
Aside from their trifecta philosophy, Melody also discussed the importance of private-public partnerships for projects coming out of their office. These partnerships have allowed SustainIndy to accomplish many things other cities have struggled with - for instance they were able to hire a consulting firm to apply for the STAR Communities ranking. Additionally, they have established a small granting program where community entities can apply for small amounts of funding to help establish their initiative.
One student asked the "bike master," Jamison, an employee of the office, about the huge surge in bike infrastructure in Indy and the residents' reactions. Jamison explained how this has come about; in particular, Mayor Ballard is a huge proponent of biking. He had the political will to implement this idea. So, prior to 2008 when Ballard was elected bike infrastructure in Indy was pretty minimal. They discussed how one of the main drivers of the bike movement in Indy was the Monon Trail, especially in the Broad Ripple neighborhood. It was an attraction. People from various parts of the city would travel to Broad Ripple in the evenings to run or bike the trail, and on the weekends, families were often traveling on it whether just for fun or to visit someplace in Broad Ripple. The popularity of the Monon allowed other bike friendly projects to gain traction. Additionally, because Indy's streets were relatively wide, lanes could be adjusted to accommodate bike lanes without adding much congestion. So, for the most part, the new emphasis on biking in Indy has been received well by the public.
Many other topics were discussed during our meeting with the Office. Melody talked about the challenges associated with financing projects, the idea of projects versus programs, the urban garden initiatives, and more. One area of interest to me was the problem with sustainability being something that can come and go with political seasons. Typically, sustainability is thought of as more left-leaning characteristic. But, surprisingly Mayor Ballard, a Republican, is the one who established SustainIndy and has pushed for many of these projects. I do believe that is quite good for the idea of sustainability, particularly in a state where the idea of being environmental and sustainable can fall on party lines. It fantastic for those of us who want sustainability to overcome the whims of the political party du jour.
Overall, for a second time, I found meeting with the director of the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability to be quite interesting and insightful. As a former resident of Indy, I'm hopeful the office will be around for a long time to come!
~Katie
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