Louisville is known as the Possibility City. The moniker captures the spirit of the people residing in this great town! Kentuckians tend to see things a little different. While some people may have looked at grain that went bad during shipping as a loss, the inventive people of Kentucky saw it and thought, "We should do something about that". They came up with a way to process the extra grain for easier shipping and Bourbon was born! Even though he wasn't born in Louisville, you can see a kindred spirit in Louisville Magazine's 2009 Person of the Year: Gill Holland.
The Goal
Gill Holland has an eye for the future. He is a man with goals! Recently he posed two questions to the students of a business class at the University of Louisville: "What are you doing to make this city better?" and "How do we make Louisville the coolest place in America?" Now while these may seem like lofty goals to some, Gill Holland means it. With an eye for transformation, he has asked himself these same questions and is sharing his vision on how to get it done.
What it takes
Holland knows that Louisville has what it takes to become the next American hotspot. He refers to the Confucius ideal that "a city with great culture attracts power and wealth." One way to do that is to become a "City of Arts and Parks." Holland says, "There's a reason Seattle has companies like Microsoft. The 20something, creative hipster wants to go to a city that has clean air and nice parks. We have tons of nice parks. We don't have clean air, and that's a problem." Some studies have shown Louisville with the fifth largest carbon footprint in the nation. But don't worry, Gill has a plan!
Bringing Green to Louisville
The East Market district of Louisville has been transformed under Holland's "green" thumb. NuLu, as it is now called, is a great example of the direction Gill Holland would like to see Louisville go. This emerging hot spot is bringing art and culture to the neighborhood while still embracing the art of sustainability. The heart of NuLu is definitely the Green Building. Recycled wood adorns the ceiling, natural light floods into the space, and a "green wall" of sedums and ferns grace the downstairs. The building is 72 percent off the grid. For most that would seem like enough, but Holland looks for the day when buildings like this are 100 percent off the grid. With true Louisville spirit, he is showing it can be done.
Long Term Outlook
So what is the long term outlook for Louisville? One of the key ingredients is public transportation. With the right system carbon emission will be reduced greatly as less people take their cars to work. A light rail transit system connecting Louisville, Fort Knox and Frankfort KY is part of Holland's vision for the area. Oh and we can't forget rapid bus transit, a tax free zone downtown for new businesses, local farmers providing foods for schools and correction facilities and last but not least tackling unemployment by becoming a top manufacturer of green energy solutions like wind turbines and solar panels!
While all this may seem impossible, we are talking Louisville here! The Possibility City! Ingenuity is in our genes! If this sounds like the kind of city you want to live in call Mollie Younger of Younger Group Real Estate They know Louisville!
Comments(0)