Category Archives

Research & Data

What Do You Value?

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: September 3, 2025
Categories: Air quality & health, Children, Climate, Community health, Green infrastructure, Neighborhood & economy, Public safety, Research & Data

For almost 50 years, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has been working with tens of thousands of volunteers to make our city a “beautiful” place to live. But what does that mean? It may be surprising to learn that we care about – and are working to address – many of the same issues that matter to […]

Honoring Indigenous Knowledge and Environmental Stewardship

Posted by: Kelly Owens
Posted: August 22, 2025
Categories: Education, News & Features, Research & Data

Each month, during our Keep Indianapolis Beautiful staff meeting, our team takes time for a reflection on our values. These conversations connect the values of equity and community to the work we do in neighborhoods every day. This month, we reflected on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which was observed on August […]

Beautifying Indy’s Busiest Roads

Posted by: Nicole Hornyak
Posted: April 3, 2025
Categories: Busy Roads and Waterways, Clean Neighborhoods, Partners, Research & Data

For almost 50 years, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has worked in partnership with the City of Indianapolis and dedicated volunteers to keep litter off the streets in neighborhoods across the city. A persistent problem has been all the litter on our busiest roads where multiple lanes of traffic and fast driving make litter removal difficult. A […]

Rebuilding Indianapolis’ Tree Canopy: The Good, the Bad, and How to Get Involved

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: October 1, 2024
Categories: Community Forestry, Education, Engaged Citizens, KIB in the News, News & Features, Research & Data, Tree Tenders, Trees and Native Habitats, Uncategorized, Volunteers

As the President and CEO of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB), I’m writing to you with a story that has both a challenging side and a hopeful future—especially if we work together. Let’s start with the tough part. A recent study by American Forests found that over the past decade, Indianapolis’ tree canopy has declined—from covering […]

Join the Effort: Enhancing Tree Equity in Indianapolis

Posted by: Benjamin Shine
Posted: June 7, 2024
Categories: Community Forestry, Education, Engaged Citizens, Habitat Restoration, Partners, Research & Data, Trees and Native Habitats

If you could plant 3,000 trees anywhere in the City, where would you plant them? And, why? This is the question Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is faced with answering each year. We know trees provide incredible benefits like cooling our neighborhoods and reducing air conditioning costs, while also soaking up stormwater to prevent street flooding. With […]

Greening Urban Neighborhoods from the Ground Up

Posted by: Benjamin Shine
Posted: April 18, 2024
Categories: Clean Neighborhoods, Education, Engaged Citizens, News & Features, Partners, Research & Data, Trees and Native Habitats

How can community members come together, using data and community input, to address environmental concerns and effect change? That’s what The Greening Urban Neighborhoods from the Ground Up Initiative, a collaborative effort between Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) and Indiana University, is seeking to understand. The initiative aims to amplify community input regarding environmental issues impacting quality […]

KIB’s research earns national attention

Posted by: Benjamin Shine
Posted: January 9, 2024
Categories: Awards & Recognition, Research & Data, Uncategorized

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has been making our city cleaner, greener, and friendlier since 1976. And now, we know our work is helping to make Indianapolis safer too! A study by the University of Michigan School of Public Health discovered a 12% reduction in gun violence within a half-mile radius of KIB GreenSpaces. This is big […]

Good Attracts Good: Study shows KIB’s AES Project GreenSpace sites reduce gun violence

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: September 26, 2023
Categories: AES Indiana Project Greenspace, News & Features, Partners, Research & Data

This morning marked a significant moment in our journey at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB), as we proudly unveiled the promising results of a year-long study of our AES Indianapolis Project GreenSpace program. Together with Mayor Joe Hogsett and other community members, we gathered at our Shelton Heights GreenSpace to announce the exciting findings of the […]