Lifelong Learners: A Memory of Muncie: Understanding the City We Have; Building the City We Want

Description:  Muncie’s quality of place didn’t happen by accident, it’s the long-term result of decades of infrastructure growth, rising maintenance responsibilities, and development patterns that change slowly and compound over time. This presentation tells Muncie’s growth story through an infrastructure lens, explains why real change can’t happen overnight, and argues that this reality isn’t hopeless—it’s manageable.

Presenter Bio:  Colby Gray is an urban and environmental planner based in the Midwest whose work focuses on how cities grow, age, and adapt over time. His research and presentations explore the long-term infrastructure decisions that shape quality of place, and what communities can do to make those tradeoffs more visible and manageable. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and has been engaged in questions of civic sustainability and planning for over fifteen years.