By: Dr. John H. West, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, BSU—
Muncie, IN—Muncie Land Bank is a new non-profit organization focused on the issue of property abandonment, vacancy and blight. It will ease transition from abandonment to reuse by enhancing community engagement, sharing information with the public, and lowering the cost of purchasing or using abandoned properties. Property abandonment in Muncie is a complex problem, with real costs for local residents. It requires a systematic and forceful response. A collaborative project between the City, the County, Ball State University and local foundations, the Muncie Land Bank that will be a community asset for all residents.
The 100 Stories & 100 Dreams Project: We invite the residents of Muncie to participate in a project to help celebrate our creation: 100 Stories and 100 Dreams for Abandoned Properties. The aim of the project is to collect as many stories about and ideas for blighted properties as we can, to hear as many voices from the Muncie community as possible and to establish the bedrock principle of citizen participation in solving this problem. Join us in achieving our goal of establishing a strong land bank by sharing your stories of abandoned properties and dreams of how they could be reused!
The Kick-off Event: On December 7th at 7pm, as part of First Thursday festivities, students from Ball State will set up a kiosk where you can share your stories. Or, you can fill out this web-based form: tinyurl.com/100stories100dreams.
