Re-growing Muncie

// excerpted from an article written in Dec. 2007 //

What if making Muncie stronger meant making Muncie smaller? What if, instead of consistently developing along the peripheries of the city, we began to infill or redevelop the city’s existing fabric? What if the “holes” of blight, vacant factories, and under-developed properties were infused with new life, new uses, and new value? Could an infusion of concentrated (and maybe even coordinated) re-development transmit and transform the contiguous properties, districts, and neighborhoods? Could re-integrating over-looked or under-utilized parcels enhance the vitality (and perhaps the perception) of a given area? Could multiple areas being enhanced simultaneously create synergetic improvements? Could creating denser networks between strategic commercial zones stimulate the life between them?

What if this infill allowed us to re-use our existing infrastructure instead of constantly building new? What if we actually maintained and maybe even up-graded our existing infrastructure for which we have a budget and in which we have already invested? What if the enhanced infrastructure served existing users in addition to the new developments instead of just the newest user at the end of the line? What if we captured more property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes from within city limits instead of needing to annex more periphery land to fund the ever-expanding growth (or flight)? What if government had less area to govern? Would it be feasible to have a smaller government? Could that require fewer taxes to run? What if there were more people in a given area to fund a smaller government? Would per capita taxes decrease?

What if there were enough people in a given area that commercial areas could afford to be more interspersed throughout the city – and we could even walk to them instead of driving? What if we actually used MITS? What if it actually made sense to ride the bus instead of driving? What if it didn’t need to take federal dollars to keep our public transportation financially solvent?

What if our economy was driven by diverse sectors of the market, and not just two or three? What if new businesses utilized the existing labor pool for local improvement? What if we used what we actually produced? What if what we produced was something we could actually use? Could we create a local symbiotic network of inputs and outputs for the benefit of this community (as opposed to “that” one: China)?

Could we dream more about who and what we aspire to be? And lament less about what we once were? Could we move from the current malaise of cynicism and misplaced nostalgia to a place where we dare to hope once more? Could we spend our dollars where it benefited us most - here? Could we support our local entrepreneurs and value their investment into our community with our patronage? What if we looked at the second stage costs of our decisions and not just the advertised price? Would we dare pay a little more to keep opportunities open here? Or pay less and watch opportunities travel abroad? Could the price of helping a neighbor make a living and keep his house maintained (and not foreclosed) be worth it – for your property value?

What if we changed the incentives to spend here and live here and build here? What if we valued the people here as citizens (as opposed to just consumers) and the lives we are all trying to lead?

What if?