Business View Magazine - July 2016 39
the ensuing decades as steel production continued
to plummet due to increased overseas competitive-
ness. Today, Gary is home to only 79,000 residents.
As Gary’s population moved out, it left behind thou-
sands of abandoned properties, and like other shrink-
ing, rust-belt cities in the mid-West, such as Detroit or
Cleveland, Gary is plagued with urban blight, a decay-
ing infrastructure, and economic distress. But while
Gary, Indiana may be down, it is definitely not out. In
fact, according to its Mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson,
who was first elected to lead the city in 2011, her
hometown may have many challenges, but they pale
in comparison to what she deems as its potential. And
her administration is working hard to reverse the city’s
downward trend of recent years.
Deardra Campbell is Gary’s Director of Commerce
whose Department is comprised of several Divisions:
Buildings, Community Development, Environmental Af-
fairs/Green Urbanism, and Redevelopment, Planning,
and Zoning. She reports that her office is overseeing
many projects and initiatives, one of which is called
University Park East, or UPE, for short. University Park
East is a Gary neighborhood that experiences high
rates of poverty, crime, and housing vacancies. But it
also has positive assets – it is near Indiana Univer-
sity’s northwest campus and Ivy Tech, which is part of
Indiana’s community college system. It also has well-
established residential and business areas.
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Gary, Indiana
WHAT:
A city of 79,000
WHERE:
Northwest Indiana, about 30 miles south
of Chicago on Lake Michigan
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