Flint, Michigan has adopted a new strategy to deal with shrinkage and blight: tear down abandoned properties and sell the plots to nearby neighbors for a dollar.
"Abandoned homes are a big problem in Flint, Mich., a former manufacturing stronghold that is losing jobs and residents."
"In some neighborhoods five or more houses in a row are boarded up, as one owner after another packs up and leaves. Once they have sat vacant too long bulldozers come to demolish them."
"But the county is stepping in and taking control of the city's tax-foreclosed properties, selling plots to neighbors for a dollar or paying churches to maintain them."
"The Genesee County Land Bank is demolishing the abandoned homes in an attempt to end decay and help Flint downsize gracefully."
"The lots are sold to the neighbor for a dollar, or turned into parks."
FULL STORY: Flint, Michigan Sheds Foreclosed Properties
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
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Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
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Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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