Park Lafayette is a former school housing development turned public housing

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 area located on the Westside of Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

. It is situated off the corner of 21st Street and Tibbs Avenue.

Issues

In its beginning it was an abundance of several dozen small town homes and dozens of apartment buildings to house college students. Over time the government stepped in and turned the neighborhood into a low-income housing area for low-income families. Problems developed over the years at its height, more than 1,000 people were housed in these projects. Murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

, arsons, drugs

DRUGS

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...

, assault

Assault

In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

s, violent crimes, and gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

 issues were common in the area. Crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

became such an issue in these projects that the Indianapolis Police Department set up a station located inside the projects in an effort to curb violence. The area decayed to an all-time low in the late 90s and early 00s, after which the government shut down most of the area.

Recent history

The housing projects are now under way for revitalizing as some buildings have been torn down, decayed buildings have been given new layers of paint, and apartments have received new maintenance. However, due to so much urban decay over the years, the area is half-way still decayed as several buildings are now abandoned, boarded up, corroded, and an eyesore overall. The small homes that surround the project buildings have also decayed as many homes are now boarded up and abandoned. Plans have gone underway for them as well as several homes have been knocked down and replaced with newer plush homes. In recent times, there were still decisions being made in whether or not the projects should be fixed up, or completely knocked down. A few hundred people still inhabit this area.