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Inchvesting in Detroit

Posted by: Rebecca Sanborn Stone

10 March 2010 - 5:00am

$1 will buy you one square inch of a vacant lot in Detroit, and membership in Jerry Paffendorf's club of "inchvestors." It may sound like a scheme, but Paffendorf calls it a way to network, invest in Detroit, and attract entrepreneurs.

"For $1, you can own a piece of Detroit. It will be a small piece: 1 square inch, to be exact. But your deed to that microplot of land will also buy you passage into an online community that could yield big ideas for the city."

Jerry Paffendorf's "Loveland" project started when he bought a vacant lot in Detroit for $500 and then put it up for sale online - in 10,000 1-square inch segments. Buyers worldwide have been snapping up the lots, and coming up with plenty of ideas to improve their new city.

Detractors call they project a pyramid scheme or exploitation, but Paffendorf and some of his investors see it as a way to reconnect with Detroit, to bring in new ideas, to fundraise for local charities and non-profits, and hopefully to help the City recover.

Full Story: Inchvesting in Detroit: A Virtual Realty
Source: NPR, March 4, 2010
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These practices are also inequitable since they force non-drivers to subsidize parking costs, reduce travel options for non-drivers, and reduce housing affordability.
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