Checking in on Detroit’s Housing Renaissance

Detroit’s effort to rehab vacant homes and create new affordable housing units is paying off, thanks in part to the efforts of regular citizens. In a piece republished in Strong Towns, Alex Alsup zeroes in on one immigrant enclave that has experienced a major transformation since 2020.

“The area is found in the western corner of Detroit’s Midwest neighborhood, bounded by Tireman to the north, Livernois to the east, West Warren to the south and the Joe Louis Greenway/Dearborn border to the west.” Alsup worked with Michael Hudson to survey roughly 1,000 homes in the area via Google Street View, capturing the changes that occurred since 2020.

Their findings are impressive: “Over the past five years, 125 homes in the Midwest neighborhood have been reoccupied, increasing the number of occupied homes in the area by 22%. An additional 75-80 homes have undergone substantial rehab, though they remained occupied throughout the last five years.” The number of vacant homes in the area fell by 70 percent, and only 13 percent of reoccupied homes are owned by non-Detroit residents or entities. “Much of the inventory for rehab here seems to have been supplied by Detroit Land Bank sales: 77 of 125 reoccupied homes were owned by the Detroit Land Bank circa 2019,” signaling the importance of land banks as a conduit to affordable housing and homeownership.

For Alsup, “The story of the Midwest neighborhood is a testament to what can happen when communities take the lead in revitalizing their neighborhoods. It's a model that the city should not only acknowledge but actively support.”