The city of Evansville will consider in the coming weeks a proposal to empower its land bank to take title and demolish roughly 200 properties. A recent report paid for by the city only bolsters the argument in favor of the action.
"A new report obtained by Eyewitness News shows what Evansville city officials consider a jarring and troubling look at the city's blighted property problem."
The Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development hired Bowen National Research to complete the study, which found evidence of decline on the city's southside, and in the Jacksobville neighborhood. "However, what's particularly troubling for Evansville city officials is that some neighborhoods nearby are also beginning to trend negatively," adds the article.
The study traced negative trends in population growth, homeownership, and home sales "to the pervasive and profound blight problem in the city." As a policy response to the blight problem, the city is expected to consider a land bank proposal that could demolish about 200 vacant and blighted properties around the city. An Eyewitness News report from March provides more details on the land banking proposal, as put forward by Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke.
FULL STORY: Study: Impact of Blight Profound, Spreading
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