The Local Government Academy’s field work component of the Blight Mitigation Initiative kicked off in December 2020, which sought to create and perfect a tool that could identify and track blighted structures and lots. This process was proceeded by a series of informative webinars and discussions on blight mitigation, beginning in July 2020.

I was hired by the Academy as an intern to collect data in Nemacolin and Crucible, and to then enter the information into a survey tool spreadsheet. This spreadsheet provides communities with an accurate depiction of their amount of blight and assesses its level, allowing municipal officials to create their own personalized solutions. The pilot run of this survey tool is now completed and is being utilized by Greene County to formulate their own mitigation plan.

In the field of data collection, I learned about the structural components of blight by observing the condition of a building’s roof, gutters, foundation, windows, etc. Blighted structures could be missing these components, have pieces hanging off the structure, or could be in disrepair. These can create physical dangers and affect the overall property value.

I learned from this experience the importance of evaluating properties without bias or judgement, as well as the compounding effects on residents and communities. The field work also underscored the significance of understanding the causes of blight and the role of code enforcement in addressing it.

The Blight Mitigation Initiative has been a giant step forward in promoting education on this topic for our local officials while formalizing a tool that allows municipalities to track and measure it.

But what does the future hold?

Recently, the Academy expanded the initiative by establishing a partnership with Washington & Jefferson College to train future decision-makers on local government work and blight. These future decision-makers are students studying public policy, specializing in understanding urban blight, and participating in the project. This partnership has included a series of virtual blighted and vacant property trainings, culminating into a survey of such properties in Canonsburg.

I will always be grateful to the Academy for granting me this opportunity to learn about blight, as well as to be part of a larger effort to improve our communities. Looking forward, I hope to further expand the Academy’s work with blight and to broaden my understanding of its cultural impacts. What began as a senior internship requirement to graduate, has now morphed into a new career path.

– Kellie Lesniak, Blight Mitigation Intern