Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana. The consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion County in 2020 was 977,203. The city is home to three Fortune 500 companies, two major league sports clubs (Colts and Pacers), five university campuses, and several museums, including the world's largest children's museum. It is perhaps best known for annually hosting the largest single-day sporting event, the Indianapolis 500. The name Indianapolis is derived from the state's name, Indiana (meaning "Land of the Indians", or simply "Indian Land"), and polis, the Greek word for "city" In 1821, Indianapolis was founded as a planned city for the new seat of Indiana's state government. Two of the city's nicknames reflect its historical ties to transportationthe "Crossroads of America" and "Railroad City". Since the 1970 city-county consolidation, known as Unigov, local government administration operates under the direction of an elected 25-member city-County council headed by the mayor. The Indianapolis metropolitan area is the 33rd most populous metropolitan statistical area in theU.S., with 2,111,040 residents. Its combined statistical area ranks 28th, with a population of 2,431,361. Indianapolis covers 368 square miles (950 km²), making it the 18th largest city by land area inThe city was platted by Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham on a 1-square-mile (2.6 km²) grid.

Etymology

Indianapolis is the primary city name, but also Acton are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Indianapolis and Marion County. The name Indianapolis is derived from the state's name, Indiana (meaning "Land of the Indians", or simply "Indian Land"), and polis, the Greek word for "city" Jeremiah Sullivan, justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, is credited with coining the name. Other names considered were Concord, Suwarrow, and Tecumseh. The name was chosen by a vote of the citizens of Indianapolis. The city's nickname is the "City of Brotherly Love" and is a reference to the city's rich history of cooperation with the Native Americans. It is also known as the "People's City" because of its large population of Native Americans, many of whom settled in the city in the 19th century. It was named after the town of Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded in 1788. The town's name means "the city of brotherly love" or "the City of Brotherhood" in Native American languages. The word "Indian" is also used to refer to the state of Indiana, as well as the city of Indianapolis as a whole. It means "land of the Indian" in the U.S. and "Indian land" in other languages, such as "Indianland" and "Indonesia" in English. It also means "City" in Greek, "Polis" which is the word for city, and "plis" in Spanish. The current name of the city is "Independence" in honor of this connection.

History

In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood, the U.S. Congress donated four sections of federal land to establish a permanent seat of state government. Under the Treaty of St. Mary's (1818), the Delaware relinquished title to their tribal lands in central Indiana, agreeing to leave the area by 1821. The first European Americans to permanently settle in the area that became Indianapolis were either the McCormick or Pogue families. Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31, 1821, when Marion County, was established. A combined county and town government continued until 1832 when Indianapolis was incorporated as a town. In 1847, Indianapolis became an incorporated city effective March 30, 1847. Between 1860 and 1870, the city's population more than doubled. During the American Civil War, Indianapolis was mostly loyal to the Union cause. An estimated 4,000 men from Indianapolis served in 39 regiments, and an estimated 700 died during war. On April 30, 1865, President Lincoln's funeral train made a stop at Indianapolis, where an estimated 100,000 people passed the bier at the Indiana Statehouse. In 1880, Indianapolis experienced tremendous growth and prosperity and in the wake of the Second Industrial Revolution experienced tremendous prosperity and prosperity. The city's first mayor, Samuel Henderson, led the new city government, which included a seven-member city council. The Indianapolis Union Station was the first of its kind in the world when it opened in 1853. The National Road through the town in 1827, the first major federally funded highway in the United States. A small segment of the ultimately failed Indiana Central Canal was opening in 1839.

Geography

Indianapolis is located in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States. The city lies just north of the Indiana Uplands, a region characterized by rolling hills and high limestone content. The lowest point in the city is about 650 feet (198 m) above mean sea level, with the highest natural elevation at about 900 feet (274m) above sea level. Indianapolis is situated in the Southern Great Lakes forests ecoregion which in turn is located within the larger temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome. Located in the Mississippi Flyway, the city sees more than 400 migratory bird species throughout the year. Some federally-designated endangered and threatened species are native to the area, including freshwater mussels, the rusty patched bumble bee, and the northern-eared bat. The National Wildlife Federation has ranked Indianapolis among the ten most wildlife-friendly cities in the U.S. Indianapolis has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa), but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate using the 3 °C (27 °F) climate classification. It experiences four distinct distinct seasons at the transition between USDA plant hardiness zones 5b and 6a, 5b, 6a and 6b. The average daily temperature is 4.2 °C, with average daily snowfall of 3.5 inches (91.5mm) The city's largest water bodies are artificial quarry lakes or reservoirs, with an average of 6.3 square miles (16 km²) of water.

Cityscape

Indianapolis is a planned city in the state of Indiana. The city's address numbering system begins at the intersection of Washington and Meridian streets. Indianapolis is organized into 99 "neighborhood areas" with most containing numerous individual historic and cultural districts, subdivisions, and some semi-autonomous towns. Indiana limestone is the signature building material in Indianapolis, widely included in the city's many monuments, churches, academic, government, and civic buildings. The North Meridian Street Historic District is among the most affluent urban neighborhoods in the U.S., with a mean household income of $102,599 in 2017. The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza Historic District began construction in 1921 in downtown Indianapolis. Indianapolis maintains 212 public parks covering 11,258 acres (4.4 ha) of green space, representing about 5% of the cit citland's green space. It has some 200 farms covering thousands of acres of agricultural land within its municipal boundaries. It is home to several examples of neoclassical architecture, including the American Legion, Central Library, and Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse. In the mid-20th century, the postWorld War II economic expansion and subsequent suburbanization greatly influenced Indianapolis' development patterns. From 1950 to 1970, nearly 100,000 housing units were built in Marion County, most outside Center Township in suburban neighborhoods such as Castleton, Eagledale, and Nora. Since the 2000s, downtown Indianapolis and surrounding neighborhoods have seen increased urban living and reinvestment.

Demographics

The U.S. Census Bureau considers Indianapolis as two entities: the consolidated city and the city's remainder, or balance. The consolidated city is coterminous with Marion County, except the independent municipalities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway. The city's balance excludes the populations of ten semi-autonomous municipalities that are included in totals for the Consolidated city. The Indianapolis metropolitan area, officially the IndianapolisCarmelAnderson metropolitan statistical area (MSA), consists of Marion County and the surrounding counties of Boone, Brown, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Morgan, Putnam, and Shelby. In 2018, the metropolitan area's population was 2,048,703, the most populous in Indiana and home to 30% of the state's residents. In 2015, Brookings characterized Indianapolis as a minor-emerging immigrant gateway with a foreign-born population of 126,767, or 6.4% of total population. In 2010, the median age for Indianapolis was 33.7 years. The median household income for Indianapolis city was $42,704, and the median family income was $53,161.Based on 2015 estimates, the Indianapolis. metropolitan area had the highest percentage of LGBT residents in the U.s., with 4.2% of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Much of this growth can be attributed to thousands of Burmese-Chin refugees who have settled in Indianapolis since the late 1990s.

Economy

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest industries by employment in the Indianapolis metropolitan area are trade, transportation, and utilities. The city's major exports include pharmaceuticals, motor vehicle parts, medical equipment and supplies, engine and power equipment, and aircraft products and parts. Three Fortune 500 companies are based in the city: health insurance company Elevance Health; pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company; and agricultural chemical company Corteva. The region was home to some 4,300 establishments employing nearly 110,000 in 2020. Indianapolis is typically considered part of the Rust Belt, a region of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States beleaguered by industrial and population decline. In 2016, Carrier Corporation announced the closure of its Indianapolis manufacturing plant, moving 1,400 jobs to Mexico. The Indianapolis area is home to FedEx Express's National Hub which employs 7,000 workers in sorting, distribution, and shipping at Indianapolis International Airport. The regional healthcare providers of Community Health Network, Eskenazi Health, Franciscan Health, Indiana University Health, and St. Vincent Health have a combined workforce of 43,700. According to a 2021 report commissioned by BioCrossroads, Central Indiana's life sciences and healthcare sector generates nearly $84 billion in total economic output and supports more than 331,000 jobs throughout the region.Indianapolis is also a hub for academic medicine and health sciences research, home to such institutions as the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute and Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Culture

The city's primary art museum is the Indianapolis Museum of Art, founded in 1883 by suffragist May Wright Sewall. The Indianapolis Art Center is a not-for-profit arts organization located in the city's Broad Ripple Village neighborhood. The city is home to a variety of professional musical organizations, including the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Opera, and Butler University's Clowes Memorial Hall. Other notable live music venues include Butler-Tarkington University's Melody Inn, Emerson Theater in Little Flower, and The Flower Theater in the Little Flower. The Indiana Theatre, which opened in 1927 on Washington Street, houses the Indiana Repertory Theatre, the state's largest non-profit professional repertory theatre. The Old National Centre at the Murat Shrine, the oldest stagehouse in Indianapolis, having opened in 1910, is also home to The District Theatre and the Basile and Indy Eleven theaters. The Broad Ripple and Fountain Square neighborhoods are known for their local live music, including The Indianapolis Bar and Grill, and the Indianapolis Bar & Grill, as well as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, which performs nearly 200 concerts annually. The University of Indianapolis' Herron School of Art and Design was established in 1902 as the John Herron Art Institute. The school's first core faculty included Impressionist painters of the Hoosier Group: T. C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, William Forsyth, Richard Gruelle, and Otto Stark. The university's public art collection is extensive, with more than 30 works.

Sports

Indianapolis has been called the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World" The city is home to two NCAA athletic conferences: the Horizon League (D-I) and the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Indianapolis is also home to three national sport governing bodies, as recognized by the U.S. government. The Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) have been based in the city since relocating from Baltimore in 1984. The Colts' tenure in Indianapolis has produced 11 division championships, two conference championships, and two Super Bowl appearances. Indianapolis hosts numerous sporting events annually, including the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (1977present), Circle City Classic (1984present), Monumental Marathon (2008present), and Big Ten Football Championship Game (2011present). Indianapolis is a regular host of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (1980, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2021). The city also hosts the National Sports Festival (1982); NBA All-Star Game (1987); Pan American Games X (1987); US Open Series Indianapolis Tennis Championships (1991); World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (1992); United States Grand Prix (2000-2007); World Police and Fire World Cup (2002); and the College Football Playoff National Championship (2022). The Indiana Pacers have won 26 division titles, 14 league titles, and seven championships, most recently in 2000. The team has played at Victory Field since 1996. Other minor league franchises include the Indy Eleven of the USL Championship (USLC) and Indy Fuel of the ECHL, which both premiered in 2014.

Government and politics

Indianapolis and Marion County have a consolidated city-county form of government. The executive branch is headed by an elected mayor, who serves as the chief executive of both the city and county. Indianapolis City-County Council is the legislative body and consists of 25 members, all of whom represent geographic districts. The judiciary consists of a circuit court and superior court with four divisions and 32 judges. The Indiana Statehouse houses the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government. Most federal field offices are located in the Minton-Capehart Federal Building. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, is headquartered in neighboring Lawrence. Indianapolis is split between two of Indiana's nine congressional districts: Indiana's 7th congressional district, represented by André Carson, and Indiana's 5th congressional districts,represented by Victoria Spartz. While Indianapolis as a whole leans Democratic, the southern third of the city, consisting of Decatur, Perry, and Franklin townships, trends Republican. In the 2000 United States presidential election, Marion County voters narrowly selected George W. Bush over Al Gore, but voted in favor of John Kerry by a margin of 1.9% in the 2004 United States president election. Presidential election results have increasingly favored Democrats, with Marion County selecting Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the 2020 United States election, 63.334.3%. Incumbent mayor Democrat Joe Hogsett faced Republican State Senator Jim Merritt and Libertarian Doug McNaughton in the 2019 Indianapolis mayoral election.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Indianapolis, Hamilton County, Indiana = 30.4. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 1. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 42. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Indianapolis = 3.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 887,642 individuals with a median age of 35.8 age the population grows by 2.03% in Indianapolis, Hamilton County, Indiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,454.50 residents per square mile of area (947.69/km²). There are average 2.37 people per household in the 328,642 households with an average household income of $45,400 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.40% of the available work force and has dropped -6.29% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 18.62%. The number of physicians in Indianapolis per 100,000 population = 289.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Indianapolis = 39.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 15.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 111. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 186. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 18.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 43, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Indianapolis, Hamilton County, Indiana which are owned by the occupant = 52.22%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 39 years with median home cost = $112,360 and home appreciation of -2.16%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.41 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,617 per student. There are 16.8 students for each teacher in the school, 464 students for each Librarian and 628 students for each Counselor. 5.66% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 16.98% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.86% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).