WEIGAND: Reinvesting in neighborhoods is essential
Our city is about to engage in a high-stakes gamble to avert a death spiral—or
accelerate it and make it much more of a certainty.
Kurt Wiegand
Articles
WEIGAND: Let’s rethink fixes for urban poverty
The message to neighborhoods couldn’t be clearer: It’s absolutely essential to attract and retain middle-class
homeowners with the resources to invest in—and maintain—their own homes, as well as support surrounding businesses.
WIEGAND: Who’s monitoring home construction?
About 18 months ago, I watched as the entire exterior of an expensive condo on the Central Canal—originally
built in 1996—was rebuilt. Among the issues: There was no building paper (Tyvek) under the siding, treated lumber wasn’t
used on the exposed porches, and neither was there any drainage.
WIEGAND: School competition good for community
It’s vitally important to have innovative, competitive and successful
school options available to attract and retain middle-class families in the neighborhoods.
WIEGAND: Does Indianapolis suffer from ‘economic apartheid’?
I see Mayor Greg Ballard’s plan to demolish abandoned homes as a sign of failure, an acknowledgment
that our leaders—those whom we elected, business leaders, policy people, and leaders of not-for-profits—have failed
us, much in the same way leaders dramatically failed the auto companies, investment banks and mortgage companies.