What thing do you think Indy needs the most? (Indianapolis: credit, house)

[Naptowner]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Nap, if you haven't noticed already, the boastful Chicagoans largely see the city as starting at the Loop and heading north. Nothing else applies.

Apparently it doesn't include the western suburbs either.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Naptowner

Apparently it doesn't include the western suburbs either.

Nope. Many of my co-workers in the Chicago office live in those suburbs, and it cracks me up the way they try to poke fun at Indiana. Places like Naperville, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Palatine might as well be Carmel, Fishers or Greenwood.

[Naptowner]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Nope. Many of my co-workers in the Chicago office live in those suburbs, and it cracks me up the way they try to poke fun at Indiana. Places like Naperville, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Palatine might as well be Carmel, Fishers or Greenwood.

Don't get me started. My sister-in-law owns a condo off Western in the UIC area, and she's always beefing about how there's nothing to do in Indianapolis, how much better Chicago is, etc. Yet when she's there she rarely goes anywhere by herself in the evening because she's afraid of going out to her car by herself at night.

[danielpw]

Originally Posted by Naptowner

I think Indianapolis needs high-wage employment more than anything. Mass transit is a symptom of a densely populated city; it doesn't produce anything on its own. I mean really, what would it change? It would get cars off the street, but traffic here is already minimal compared to comparable cities, and parking is plentiful and extremely cheap. The only people who 'need' mass transit are those who can't afford to drive, and for them it would be sufficient to improve the existing bus system.

Though I do agree with your assertions, it would be very nice to have a reliable mass transit system. I would like nothing more than to downsize to a 1-car household - for a variety of reasons.

[domergurl]

Yea, Evanston, Oak Park, Park Forest, Beverly ... real suburban .. not. St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, all established towns before they became suburbs too. And oh my, I guess I can't mention the rest of the established north shore towns because, as you both say, I'm so north side centric. Chicago isn't a world class city? That would make NYC the only world class city in America then, please. Oy, why do I get pulled in? Indianapolis is a nice town, but at this rate, we may as well start calling it killiapolis. And no, I realize that people aren't being gunned down in the streets per se, there aren't gun fights in Chicago either, the violence tends to be in pockets of the city that everyone knows about, but the Indianapolis crime wave seems all over the place, close to downtown. But still, the murder rate this month is alarming to say the least. Oh, but I guess since it's just bad guys killing bad guys, that makes it better, using your logic. Please. That whacko who did the double murder then offed himself did it in front of a 13 year old child .. guess that makes her a bad guy eh?

Stop making excuses guys.

gmasterb drug Chicago into the mix, not me. I mentioned the killings in Indy and immediately, they got their defensive Chicagothisandthat malarky.

Indianapolis continues to be one of the most liveable cities in America and I think this is a great thing. But when people who want to relo here research the newspaper, well, it would make me want to immediately head to the burbs and not the city.

As for the sister in law near UIC ... yea, I wouldn't go out at night either, but the neighborhood is getting better.

[jeff3166]

Feel better?

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by jeff3166

Feel better?

me? I always feel good when I'm on city-data

[LouisvilleJake]

Originally Posted by Naptowner

Chicago is not a "major world class city,"

HA! That quote actually made me laugh out loud!

However, every reputable group that ranks "global cities" includes Chicago in the highest echelons. Now, you may not like Chicago, however it is among the most important cities on the planet, and I think midwesterners should be proud to have a city like Chicago as their "regional capital" of sorts.



Now, as for what I think Indianapolis needs:

I think it needs what most major American cities need; better schools. The lack of truly decent schools is probably the number one reason that middle class families move to the suburbs today. Of course, it becomes a chicken or egg issue: do school get better and then new families move in or do new families come in an slowly make schools better? A real social question that is not unique to Indianapolis, but needs to be addressed all the same.

I also think the city needs to stop subsidizing downtown development at the expense of city neighborhoods. Downtown Indianapolis long ago crossed the threshold of critical mass needed to keep building more and more projects with less and less government help. For that the city deserves a lot of praise. However, the governement still throws millions of dollars to build projects downtown that would have probably been built anyway because there is a lot of money to be made in downtown nowadays. There needs to be a change in the agenda for city development away from downtown and into the neighborhoods - and I think that will be hard because when I lived there I never got the sense that the city or the people had a culture of neighborhood preservation.

[1BigBear]

You guys might want to move this Chi_Town Sidebar to another thread.!

Indy, like all cities this size and smaller, needs a Mayor with brash and balls.
Simple.~ Get the job done.! or get someone who can.!
Trust me, a city with a Mayor with No moral hardline backbone is doomed.
Just look at Memphis ! and It's crime stats. OMG!! {Thanks slick Willy Herenton !}
Then thank ~'someone'~ you're HERE.

hey- What's Rudy Giuliani dong these days....?

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by LouisvilleJake

HA! That quote actually made me laugh out loud!

However, every reputable group that ranks "global cities" includes Chicago in the highest echelons. Now, you may not like Chicago, however it is among the most important cities on the planet, and I think midwesterners should be proud to have a city like Chicago as their "regional capital" of sorts.

High five!