Muncie Preservation Officer William Morgan called the city’s housing vacancies situation a triple threat, listing loss of traditional manufacturing jobs, loss of traditional farming jobs and the rise of a global economy as primary reasons.
Morgan gave a presentation Monday evening open to students, as well as the public, about the current state of Muncie’s historic buildings, housing situation and how it’s been affected by job-induced migration.
Morgan showed pictures comparing manufacturing and farming jobs of the mid-20th century to those of today. He emphasized the notable replacement of human labor by automated machines.
“The Midwest is producing more crops than ever,” he said. “It just takes one tenth as many people to do it.”
Many members of the audience have lived in Muncie since the ‘50s and ‘60s; the comparison Morgan made brought tears to the eyes of several Muncie residents who can remember days when those jobs were plentiful.
The loss of these jobs has left a noticeable gap in Muncie’s residency. In 2010, there were 4,699 vacant homes; approximately 14.2 percent of all the city’s homes.
Historic homes have also been demolished as a result of actions taken by the federal government. Historic neighborhoods are demolished to make room for cheap public housing complexes and communities are divided and isolated when interstate highways cut through them.
Some people see these changes as inevitable and positive despite the loss of jobs. Ben Pearson, a graduate student, said the changes are beneficial.
“It’s inevitable,” he said. “Honestly I think it’s a good thing. We need to get away from doing all this hard labor ourselves and move towards being more mechanized, being more leisurely.”
In 2008, Muncie received $2 million in federal funds to take such actions of its own, Morgan said. Half of that was used for demolition of blighted properties.
The blighted properties included homes that had been vacated for months and were demolished by burning them to the ground; a practice that raised ethical concerns among many officials and community members.
The other half however was used for more agreeable efforts such as restoring Jackson Vine-Graystone apartment complexes, as well as the windows of the local YMCA, Morgan said.
Concerns were also raised about more than just buildings. One student was curious to find out if anything is planned on being done about Muncie’s sidewalks.
Morgan said, while sidewalks are not part of his job, he did know that the city is currently facing a Disability Act lawsuit as a result of their current condition.
“It’s expensive and the more we work on it, the more street trees we lose,” he said.
Housing, historic buildings and the quality of sidewalks were not the only local matters discussed. The impact of the railroad that goes through Muncie was briefly brought up, as well as the preservation of wooden barns, revered by many as an icon of the Midwest.
Morgan acknowledged the importance of all these topics and told of their importance to the local economy.
“Every town has a Wal-Mart,” he said. “What attracts businesses is our old stuff.”
