What can be done to improve Gary? (Hammond, Portage: rental, hotel)

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by domergurl

You can bring beauty pageants and baseball teams to Gary, but the bottom line is that Gary is an ugly ugly, polluted city because of the steel mill. With suburbanization of NWI, there are places to live where you don't have to see the chugging smoke, gray skies and live in a place where your windows are caked with soot. It's not going to attract a thriving middle class to live there. It's sad, but true.

Here in Columbus, it's interesting. We have huge plants, not steel mills, within walking distance to neighborhoods, not the nicest neighborhoods, but for some reason, it works. Maybe Gary's mayor could come down here and get some ideas on how Columbus does it. We are opening our new supercool community gathering place and getting ready to break ground for a new outdoor sports complex. We manage to attract lots of sporting events and other tourists interested in our architecture.

I don't know of any other steel towns that manage to balance middle class living with heavy industry ...

Yep. Many people regard heavy industry as a nuisance...building stadiums and Michael Jackson entertainment parks isn't going to mask the problem. I'm a big follower of John Muir's naturalist philosophy, and I've often wondered what the south shore of Lake Michigan would look like without all the industry...it's really proven to be a double-edged sword for NWI in the context of the last century as a whole.

It could be worse, though. If it weren't for the zealous advocacy of conservationists like Dorothy Buell and Henry Cowles in converting the eastern coastline into a National Park, the entire shore of LM could be one contiguous strip of industry (and accompanying urban decay).

Sorry...short reflection there. Anyway...I don't think it's a done deal for Gary, and I do support some of the GRIP initiatives, but I think the expectations can only be so high as long as the factories and pollution remain.

[Craziaskowboi]

Just let Illinois keep doing what it knows best, and Gary will reap the benefits.

[svillechris]

So, this may be a bit of a controversial stance, but hear me out. Part of me, or almost all of me, actually doesn't want Gary to "turnaround" and become an area where middle to upper middle class people live. You know why? That would lead to the current undesirable residents of Gary infiltrating the rest of the more desirable areas in Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana.

In other words, from an outsider's perspective, isn't it better to keep all of the crime, drugs, etc concentrated into one town or centralized area? We all know that there are towns in relatively close proximity to Gary that are still able to grow and thrive, at least partly because the residents of Gary aren't moving into those towns. I feel that it would actually be more beneficial for Northwest Indiana as a whole to contain the problems to one town, instead of allowing it to disperse and spread to several other towns which may likely lead to an increase in crime, drugs, and worsening schools everywhere. But that's just me.

[subject2change]

If they aren't moving to those towns now, it's because they can't afford them. Any blacks moving to Schererville, or other NWI towns that are still majority white, would have to be solidly middle class anyway. There's nothing to be afraid of.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by subject2change

If they aren't moving to those towns now, it's because they can't afford them. Any blacks moving to Schererville, or other NWI towns that are still majority white, would have to be solidly middle class anyway. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Good point, and I definitely agree with you. I suppose my concern I less about towns such as Schererville and CP as it is with Griffith, Hobart, and the lower middle class towns like that. I'd rather those towns stay blue collar, not turn to gang-infested ghettos.

[Bluefox]

Another stream-of-consciousness thought: I've often wondered if there is a legitimate model that Gary can look to in planning its future. The only comparison I can think of is Oakland, CA. Now there are certain prohibitive differences that limit a comparison analysis...Oakland never fell as hard as Gary did, it has always had a more diverse economy, it's in the middle of a very desirable area, and it's much larger than Gary.

But I think it's a good, and I think the only, example of large-scale gentrification in the US. In no small part, Oakland's gentrification was due to the millions and millions of dollars pumped into the city in the 1990s, which led to businesses occupying vacancies, which led to jobs, which led to gentrification. Now Oakland is still a dangerous city and has a long way to go, but it has clearly already hit the bottom and is going back up.

Despite the differences, there are some similarities between the two cities that I think are worth noting:

(1) They are both located next to major cities in large metropolitan areas
(2) They are located near a large body of water
(3) They are both served by several interstate highways
(4) They are both considered among the most dangerous cities in the US
(5) They both experienced large-scale white flight (more so Gary but Oakland as well)
(6) They are both well-connected to the center of their respective metro areas by public transportation

So, while limited in scope, I think it's worth considering how Oakland is turning around and see to what extent the methods used with Oakland could apply to Gary. Any thoughts?

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by svillechris

So, this may be a bit of a controversial stance, but hear me out. Part of me, or almost all of me, actually doesn't want Gary to "turnaround" and become an area where middle to upper middle class people live. You know why? That would lead to the current undesirable residents of Gary infiltrating the rest of the more desirable areas in Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana.

In other words, from an outsider's perspective, isn't it better to keep all of the crime, drugs, etc concentrated into one town or centralized area? We all know that there are towns in relatively close proximity to Gary that are still able to grow and thrive, at least partly because the residents of Gary aren't moving into those towns. I feel that it would actually be more beneficial for Northwest Indiana as a whole to contain the problems to one town, instead of allowing it to disperse and spread to several other towns which may likely lead to an increase in crime, drugs, and worsening schools everywhere. But that's just me.

controversial ... yes. But to label Gary residents as undesireable is really bad, sv. Really bad. Your perspective is spot on ... outsider all the way. Your view is similar to that of 1950's American theory of containing communism to certain parts of the world ...

The towns around Gary, seem to be able to take care of their own just fine. They've been doing it for decades.

What I'd like to see in Gary is someone caring about the residents of Gary, put their people to work. If they could get out of their political machine corruption is awesome mentality and actually do things for the residents, that would help. In order for a town to survive, there must be a thriving middle class inhabiting it, shopping the shops, going to parks, etc.

Don't worry, sv ... your burg is safe from the spooky Gary people. I don't think they'd want to move to a place with attitudes like yours.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Just let Illinois keep doing what it knows best, and Gary will reap the benefits.

Not sure what you mean by your comment , but I would be interested in learning what you mean by the remark.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by domergurl

controversial ... yes. But to label Gary residents as undesireable is really bad, sv. Really bad. Your perspective is spot on ... outsider all the way. Your view is similar to that of 1950's American theory of containing communism to certain parts of the world ...

The towns around Gary, seem to be able to take care of their own just fine. They've been doing it for decades.

What I'd like to see in Gary is someone caring about the residents of Gary, put their people to work. If they could get out of their political machine corruption is awesome mentality and actually do things for the residents, that would help. In order for a town to survive, there must be a thriving middle class inhabiting it, shopping the shops, going to parks, etc.

Don't worry, sv ... your burg is safe from the spooky Gary people. I don't think they'd want to move to a place with attitudes like yours.

Ok, let me clarify. First of all, I never labeled Gary residents as undesirable. I spoke of "the current undesirable residents of Gary" which directs my comment at only a portion of the residents there, specifically the undesirable residents. You misunderstood this as though I was saying that everybody who lives in Gary is scum. I did not say that, nor do I think that. However, it's not even arguable that Gary has a portion of residents that are considered undesirable, as evidenced by the crime, drugs, and gang statistics of that town. I believe that anyone who owns a home, or frankly any reasonable person would agree that these types of people are undesirable, and not the type of individuals I would want in my town.

There has been discussion on this thread about gentrifying the area of Gary, putting in shops, parks, etc. If that took place, it would bring in middle to upper middle class residents. I think this is far way off, but this whole thread is a hypothetical situation so I'm adding my thoughts. What would this gentrification do to the specific undesirable residents of Gary that I spoke of previously? They would be priced out and would have to relocate elsewhere. THIS is specifically what I was referring to when I discussed how the undesirable residents of Gary would move to surrounding towns like Hobart or Griffith, and maybe add in Portage or Lake Station. Towns where the property values are lower.

Would I like to see the people of Gary taken better care of? Of course, I'd like to see everybody in this area, country, and world be taken care of better. But please do not crucify me for explaining why I don't want theives, drug dealers, and gang members to spread throughout our great area of Northwest Indiana.

[css9450]

Originally Posted by svillechris

But please do not crucify me for explaining why I don't want theives, drug dealers, and gang members to spread throughout our great area of Northwest Indiana.

So in other words, you're saying: Keep 'em in their place!