The Rehabilitation of Gary, Indiana, Through the Use of Nuisance and Receivership

Abstract

The Broken Window hypothesis would suggest that order maintenance and city wellbeing are dependent upon the absence of abandoned buildings, overgrown lots and streets, litter, and general disrepair. Gary, Indiana, with a downtown nearly abandoned, abundant in overgrowth, and the very icon of disrepair, presents a problematic circumstance for the establishment of order, a prerequisite for economic vitality. Thus, if Wilson and Kelling are correct, Gary must find a solution for the current physical and aesthetic state of its community if the city hopes to move away from a near-eminent collapse. Thankfully, the interim remedy of receivership, coupled with the causes of action embodied by the nuisance statutes, provide both an immediate and effective remedy. The buildings in Gary that are vacant, in a state of disrepair, likely constitute a nuisance, and qualify as proper targets for injunctive relief. Through the use of receivership, remedial measures can quickly be pursued as the suit is litigated, allowing Gary to move forward toward stability and growth with haste. Thus, one can only hope that Wilson and Kelling are correct: that the elimination of vacant buildings, overgrowth, and disrepair, which currently plague the Gary community, will reduce the crime rate and reestablish order within the City.