Where in Macon-Bibb County do you see blight?

Boarded-up homes. Shuttered stores. Neglected, overgrown yards. Crumbling roads.

By themselves, these are eyesores and sometimes safety hazards. Taken together, they’re known as blight, a daily reality across Macon and Bibb County.

For the next four months, the Telegraph and the Center for Collaborative Journalism at Mercer University will examine blight in-depth: its causes, its effects on communities and individuals, and ways community leaders and residents might be able to effectively address it.

Our look at blight is an extension of the CCJ’s first major community engagement project, Macon in the Mirror, in which hundreds of residents shared their opinions -- good and bad -- about the place they call home. In interviews and at a forum following that initial project, residents clearly identified blight as a major concern.

Residents can help us tell the story of blight in Macon by sharing stories, pictures, and other information that will help Telegraph and GPB journalists and Mercer student journalists develop a comprehensive picture of one of Macon’s most pressing issues.

Be a part

To tell us about blight where you live, email us at MaconBlight@gmail.com and leave a daytime number where we can reach you; call 478-569-2624; share on social media with the hashtag #maconblight, or go to this link: www.tinyurl.com/MaconBlight.

This story was originally published January 6, 2014 at 7:03 AM with the headline "Where in Macon-Bibb County do you see blight?."