Many people in Indianapolis want to see a better urban tree canopy and more greenspace for a better quality of life.
The City-County Council’s Environmental Sustainability Committee considered Monday innovative ways to revitalize greenspace. New funding options in environmental areas could offer opportunities for parks and urban canopy projects.
Rusty Carr (Department of Metropolitan Development) said that federal grants or TIF district could be used to improve parks, and other infrastructure.
“We know that folks who are living in a neighborhood want access to that and so that’s why we want to make sure all of our tools are unlocked to support that,” Carr said.
Rating agencies that take into account environmental and social climate improvement can also be a benefit to cities.
Morgan Mickelson, director of Indianapolis’ Office of Sustainability, said natural resources like trees can earn the city money through carbon credits.
“A credit is a value of the amount of carbon that the trees actually sequester,” Mickelson said.
Indianapolis’ Thrive Plan has a goal to plant 30,000 new trees by 2025.
The committee will then consider funding options that could be used to support other projects to improve urban greenspaces.
