By Karen Kennedy
The City of Carmel is again making headlines as it was highlighted in a new study by Ford Motors on the fastest growing trends of 2013. Ford found that, for the first time in this century, America’s cities are growing faster than their surrounding suburbs as potential home-buyers seek out more diversity, opportunity and culture.
In larger cities and suburbs, a concept referred to as an “intima-city” is trending, in which urban town squares are created to create the feeling of being in the heart of a downtown area.
The report, entitled “Looking Further with Ford: 13 Trends for 2013,” mentions Carmel as follows:
“The mayor (of Carmel) has set out to design a city for ‘people first and automobiles second.’ At the heart of the city’s surge is the reconstruction of the one-mile ‘Old Town:’ an $800 million public/private partnership funded new streets, sidewalks and an arts district, drawing people from Indianapolis and beyond. Galleries and restaurants line Main Street, with upscale condos above them. The Mayor’s plan is paying off: In 2012, Money Magazine ranked Carmel the No. 1 best place to live.”
The study also found that of young professionals, “Generation Y-ers,” 88 percent want to be in an urban setting with pedestrian town squares for meeting neighbors and friends and multi-mixed mobility choices.