One in five Detroit homes is in foreclosure and asking prices are dropping to extreme lows. Many in the city question what lies in the future for the struggling city.
"Houses on sale for a few dollars are something of an urban legend in the US on the back of the mortgage crisis that drove millions of people from their homes. But in Detroit it is no myth.
One in five houses now stand empty in the city that launched the automobile age, forged America's middle-class and blessed the world with Motown.
Detroit has been in decline for decades; its falling population is now well below a million – half of its 1950 peak. But the recent mortgage crisis and the fall of the big car makers into bankruptcy has pushed the town into a realm unique among big cities in America."
But while homes sell for just a few dollars and desperate homeowners set fire to their houses to try to claim insurance money, some retain hope for a type of revival in the city.
Read the full story: Detroit homes sell for $1 amid mortgage and car industry crisis
How Risky Lending Hollowed Out Detroit
Over one half of Detroit's foreclosed homes are blighted or abandoned. Buyers who purchased the homes for as little as $1 have little incentive to keep them in good shape—or pay taxes.
In Detroit, Continuing the Legacy of Land Banks
While the Detroit Land Bank has had its ups and downs, it has made significant progress in a city with no shortage of vacant and delinquent properties.
A Stark Visualization of Detroit's Tax Mess
A Detroit-based maker of "crowdfunding and social mapping systems," has developed an interactive map of the tax status of every property in Detroit. In bright yellows, oranges, and reds, the city's property tax "black hole" is brutally clear.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
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Non-stop party: Chicago voters weigh permanent festival grounds
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Metra may invest $9.1 billion in regional rail
The agency released a draft of a study examining potential ways to offer more frequent train service.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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