How To Build A Beautiful City

The Indianapolis Urban Design Oversight Committee's 38 members are from a variety of fields: "It includes a strong sampling of architects, designers of one sort or another and commercial developers. It also includes members of the philanthropic community, the sort of folks whose presence lends an aura of selfless concern, as well as government officials and public agency staffers... It may seem obvious that the public wants a beautiful city, but which of the several competing concepts of architectural beauty will the public's eyes behold? And by what process should that decision be made?... To at least attempt to unravel these issues, the UDOC commissioned two studies of the review process here and elsewhere... In the end, it is the mayor who enables, if not creates, the vision of urban design and development. Without that leadership, Indianapolis' design standards are only worth the paper they aren't yet printed on."