Perhaps the most significant initiative of the last mayoral administration, in terms of improving the Livability of our city, was the establishment of the Indianapolis-Marion County Green Commission (Commission) and the Indy GreenPrint Initiative (GreenPrint). It is to the credit of our new Mayor that he appears to be supporting a continuing effort of the Commission. As I mentioned in previous articles, the Commission has issued the first report - "Action Agenda: Phase 1" (Report) of its investigation which you can access through a link at www.greenbroadripple.org.

The Report opens with: "Commitment to Progress toward Sustainability."

"In 2007, the Indianapolis community began its first organized effort to bring together diverse community stakeholders to construct an action agenda for achieving the integrated goals of enhancing economic prosperity and maintaining a healthy environment in order to ensure a vibrant, sustainable Indianapolis." ". . . Mayor Peterson asked the Green Commission to map a process consistent with the Indy GreenPrint whereby economic vitality and environmental responsibility reinforce one another over time - ensuring a high quality of life for ourselves and our children and, thereby, creating a legacy that will sustain future generations in Indianapolis." In my opinion, our community would have been much better served had he begun GreenPrint in 2001 instead of the Cultural District Initiative that, as far as I can see, did little, if anything, to improve the Livability of our community. It did, however, generate a substantial amount of expensive hype which you can access through another link at www.greenbroadripple.org entitled "The First Five Years." I could elaborate extensively on the failings of the Cultural District Initiative, and will do so if forced to, yet my preference is to look to the future and the promise of our "Commitment to Progress toward Sustainability" - a commitment to improve, not the image, but the actual Livability of our community. The Report offers 29 recommendations that, if implemented, will allow us to feel good about letting go of the stuff of the last century and bring us in step with the challenge and the promise of this new 21st century.

I would like here to point to the last three recommendations of the Report for they deal with neighborhood revitalization which, in my mind, is at the root of Liability. The final section of the Report opens with a quote: "Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how." It then offers the following:

"Recommendation 27:

Invest in community organizing around quality of life planning."

"Recommendation 28:

Invest in neighborhood-level sustainability initiatives attending to both the built and natural environments."

"Recommendation 29:

Support and direct neighborhood residents' efforts to connect with the resources and build the relationships necessary to effectively implement neighborhood plans."

This is very encouraging for it is precisely what needs to happen if Broad Ripple is to realize its full potential and capitalize on the dynamics of the times and gain, rather than loose out, in the maelstrom of risk and opportunity created by the change that is surely coming our way. The elaboration of these three recommendations in the Report offers a roadmap for a positive future for our community yet, this future can only be realized through proactive action. Unfortunately, there is as yet, no agency in our community with the intellect, the will, and the competence to implement or even fully understand these recommendations, let alone embark on an effort to organize Broad Ripple into an effective cohesive community. What Broad Ripple needs is an organization that invites all the citizens of the community to participate in the planning effort so that all have a stake in the plan's success; an organization that recognizes that at the heart of community is the sense of inclusion and belonging that is fundamental to human well-being; an organization that would champion the interest of the people who live and work in Broad Ripple in order to make our community an exemplar place to live, work and rear children; a community that would work to create a prosperous, healthful, vibrant, and nurturing environment. A community that among the many considerations: taxes, politics, traffic, development, business. . . , would place Livability First.