What's New?
Transit-Oriented Development
For last week's Strong Cities, Strong Communities event in Gary, URS, the transportation consulting firm that created the joint NICTD/RDA strategic business plan for the South Shore trains, excerpted part of the plan's section on Transit-Oriented Development. You can download a pdf (it's just eight pages!) here.
Who's Where? Strong Cities, Strong Communities
The RDA was on hand last week in Gary for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities event. Over the course of two days hundreds of local leaders and residents heard from experts on transit, housing, public health and economic development. The event attracted some heavy hitters, including Mark Linton, the Executive Director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (pictured).
What's Happening? Festival Season
It's the height of festival season in Northwest Indiana and communities are taking full advantage of new venues that RDA funding has helped to bring on line. The Pavilion at Wolf Lake (top) hosted multiple nights of live music from top acts during the Festival of the Lakes, and the new Lakefront Park in Whiting - site of the annual Pierogifest - is almost finished. Both projects were fueled by more than $50 million in RDA grants and both Hammond and Whiting are now reaping the benefits. Even during Pierogifest, construction work continued in downtown Whiting (bottom). Check out pictures from last weekend in Whiting here!
