Why does Indy have such poor walkability?

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

I would guess the property taxes in Plainfield are cheaper than the property taxes are in Indianapolis.

Property taxes are capped at 1% of assessed value in Indiana. There's no real property tax advantage for either place.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Taggerung

Yes, but KC and Columbus have absurdly exaggerated "city limits" too. And so do most other Indiana cities. Which is why I looked at the number of walkable neighborhoods, rather than the overall walkability score.

No other city in Indiana has merged with its county like Indy and Marion County. There's no comparing "exaggerated city limits" between Indy and "most other Indiana cities."

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

No other city in Indiana has merged with its county like Indy and Marion County. There's no comparing "exaggerated city limits" between Indy and "most other Indiana cities."

It's called "UniGov", remember?

RM

[Taggerung]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

No other city in Indiana has merged with its county like Indy and Marion County. There's no comparing "exaggerated city limits" between Indy and "most other Indiana cities."

My point was that very few, if any, Indiana cities have the same city limits that they had in 1950. They've annexed a lot of undeveloped land and sprawlburbia into their "city limits."

[Taggerung]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

The contrast between old Indianapolis and new Indianapolis, and the disconnect between walkable and nonwalkable areas of the city have been well discussed over the years on this forum.

I'm only going to comment on the comparison to Eville and Ft Wayne. Look at those areas that rank high for Evansville. There are three small neighborhoods in the top five that you could combine into one and it would still be smaller in size than some of the neighborhoods listed for Indy. Same with Fort Wayne. It is just silly to point to that and suggest somehow Evansville has more walkable neighborhoods than Indy. It doesn't. No one who has spent any amount of time in either city would think that.

Well, it would make sense that Evansville and Ft Wayne have smaller neighborhoods- they're far smaller cities.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Taggerung

Well, it would make sense that Evansville and Ft Wayne have smaller neighborhoods- they're far smaller cities.

So what you are saying is there is no reason to compare the them. Which is correct.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Taggerung

My point was that very few, if any, Indiana cities have the same city limits that they had in 1950. They've annexed a lot of undeveloped land and sprawlburbia into their "city limits."

That is not unique to Indiana.

[Taggerung]

Something I noticed about Indy while on Google Street view is that even though many of the old neighborhoods look pretty urban, and have decent pedestrian infrastructure in place, there's not really much to walk to.

The city has some beautiful old houses, btw. Seeing what Indiana used to be- a nice old state with Queen Anne architecture and charming downtowns, and what it is now- stripmalls, chains, and cornfields, is depressing.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Taggerung

Something I noticed about Indy while on Google Street view is that even though many of the old neighborhoods look pretty urban, and have decent pedestrian infrastructure in place, there's not really much to walk to.

The city has some beautiful old houses, btw. Seeing what Indiana used to be- a nice old state with Queen Anne architecture and charming downtowns, and what it is now- stripmalls, chains, and cornfields, is depressing.

What towns were bulldozed for strip malls? What are you even talking about?

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Taggerung

Something I noticed about Indy while on Google Street view is that even though many of the old neighborhoods look pretty urban, and have decent pedestrian infrastructure in place, there's not really much to walk to.

The city has some beautiful old houses, btw. Seeing what Indiana used to be- a nice old state with Queen Anne architecture and charming downtowns, and what it is now- stripmalls, chains, and cornfields, is depressing.

This is more of the difference IMO. Indy's downtown has improved a bit in the last 20 years, but not significantly. Broad Ripple began a decline in the 2000s while Fountain Square was beginning its ascent.

To me, another aspect is the god awful bus system in Indy. It's easily one of the worst in the nation.

For walkability to be worth anything, there needs to be a concentration of things to do in a neighborhood with a variety of options to create the desire to walk. If parking is considered a hassle (or potentially dangerous like my friend's experience parking his car in Broad Ripple and having his windows broken multiple times in different incidents) then the area isn't going to get as many visitors if they can't get there with public transport and don't want to go there with their cars.

The sprawl part has hurt Indy because the suburbs have created full villages where all of their needs can be met. The only reasons to travel downtown are for specific restaurants and sporting events.