Brightwood is a neighborhood situated on the northeastside of Indianapolis, Indiana. The original plat for Brightwood was drawn up in 1872, when a residential community was envisioned by town planners that would surround the "Bee Line" Railroad that passed through the area. The a revised version of the Town of Brightwood was finally incorporated in 1876, in honor of John Bright, a local railroad figure. The neighborhood boundaries of Brightwood, Indiana, were: Massachusetts Avenue on the south, E. 30th Street on the north, N. Keystone Avenue on the west, and Sherman Drive on the east.

Brightwood was annexed into the City of Indianapolis in 1897. It continued to be known as a "railroad town" for many years after its annexation, despite its no longer being a separate municipality. In the 1950s and 1960s, Brightwood underwent transition, as the use of passenger trains declined and many white residents relocated to new suburbs farther out from the center of Indianapolis. The population of Brightwood went from being virtually all Caucasian to virtually all African-American. Like many inner-city Indianapolis neighborhoods, Brightwood is today struggling with poverty, urban decay, high crime, and blight.
Brightwood's most notable resident was the infamous gangster John Dillinger, who is buried in nearby Crown Hill Cemetery.

In recent years, residents and community leaders have organized to make improvements to the neighborhood. Brightwood and an adjacent neighborhood, Martindale, are now collectively known as the Martindale-Brightwood Neighborhood Association. The boundaries for this newer association are: E. 21st Street on the south, E. 30th Street on the north, Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue on the west, and Sherman Drive on the east. Longtime residents and newer transplants are working together to improve the quality of life in this urban neighborhood.

Brightwood-Martindale is the home of Martin University. K-6 Students are zoned to Indianapolis Public School 51.