Residential Abandonment on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis, Indiana: Voices from the Frontlines

The Near East Side of Indianapolis was once a mecca for middle class, blue collar workers that worked throughout Center Township, Marion County, Indiana. These workers toiled away in several industrial centers scattered throughout the city: Lockerbie, Near South Side, Massachusetts Ave., and East Washington Street. Early residents enjoyed a rapid transit system that connected the city with villages, towns, and cities within Indiana -as well as farther destinations within the Midwest and beyond. Like other cities, Indianapolis witnessed massive changes that erupted post-WWII.

The first of these changes came in the availability of funding to WWII veterans to purchase property under the G.I. Bill. Residents throughout the city began to relocate from inner city neighborhoods to newly developed suburban communities. While this migration resulted in the abandonment of some urban communities in Indianapolis, the Near East Side remained relatively populated. As the 1950's came, the area witnessed a rapid change along several corridors: Washington Street, New York Street, and Michigan Street. These three corridors witnessed a rapid decommercialization event that resulted in either a homogenization of commercial businesses or total abandonment. With merchants relocating further east (following the middle class residents that relocated to the suburbs), the once lauded transit system was removed -limiting the ability of residents fast commute times. Deindustrialization, in the form of factory closings and mechanization, resulted in the loss of countless industrial jobs in the industrial centers of Lockerbie, Massachusetts Ave., and East Washington Street. The loss of jobs impeded many more residents to migrate to more lucrative areas closer to the suburbs. The result was a further changing population that began to feel the impact of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

The racial/ancestral makeup of the Near East Side was, for the longest part of its history, staunchly white. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, the demographic makeup shifted to a more integrated racial/ancestral population. African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, and other populations began to reside in the area. Occupations switched from predominantly manufacturing to more service-based occupations (customer service, retail, and restaurant). The change in occupations, and populations, lowered the income average for the area: eroding the middle class population significantly. The result of these changes was a downward spiral from middle class mecca to ghetto. By 2000, blight became rooted into the Near East Side -furthered by a sustained drug epidemic. 

The shift in income, population, and rising crime stymied development in the area and further exacerbated the ability of civic and private leaders to address the problems of predatory lending, absentee landlords, and gang-related criminal activity. Abandoned structures began to accumulate in the area. Poverty, which at one point was isolated, became further widespread. 

Today, the area sits in a state of rapid abandonment. Once thriving neighborhoods have now been nearly reversed to the fields that once lined the area in the 19th Century. Community gardens have sprouted up on once occupied lots -with the purpose of providing the impoverished residents fresh vegetables. Initiatives have popped up to deal with overgrown grass and vegetation. Demolition of abandoned structures has also been witnessed. Despite the attention of civic and private organizations following the 2012 Super Bowl, the area has remained in a rapid state of abandonment and decay. 

This blog serves as a companion to my research in the area. As my research progresses, it is my hope that this blog will serve to provide valuable insight into the factors that create and sustain abandonment (and to a much broader platform, poverty). Further, understanding the impact of various anthropological themes (power, class, population migration, spatial organization, and symbolism), provides solid theoretical foundations that are visible and ongoing in the process of abandonment. 

I hope the readers of this blog enjoy this journey into urban abandonment. It has been an interesting topic of research and I am fortunate to be able to conduct this research under the auspices of the IUPUI Center for Research and Learning as a Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Research Scholar. Enjoy!