Julia Carson and Fall Creek Place

I can't believe that I forgot, in my endorsement of Julia Carson, to mention her involvement with developing Fall Creek Place neighborhood -- the now thriving neighborhood just north of mine, that is the threshold of an urban renaissance for downtown Indianapolis. Julia was instrumental not only in getting the federal funding to revitalized the blighted neighborhood of Fall Creek Place, but in ensuring that the subsidies went to people of a variety of incomes -- that the neighborhood would be affordable to the people who already lived there, and not just to the wealthy people who wanted to move into historic neighborhoods downtown.

Drive down Pennsylvania Street today, and you'll see row after row of beautifully designed houses in keeping with the character of the original neighborhood. And you see the people living in those houses and walking their dogs and children on the streets, are from a diverse set of cultures and backgrounds. For those of us who live in nearby neighborhoods downtown, the change to our own areas as a result has been breathtaking as well.

You have both Julia Carson and Bart Peterson to thank for that.