Detroit's Blight

Blight Cleanup Will Cost a Bankrupt Detroit $850 Million, Study Finds
Excerpt:

Saying that Detroit needed to rid itself of its vast collection of dilapidated houses, junk-filled lots and empty shops, a task force examining the city’s blight said Tuesday that the price tag for the cleanup would be at least $850 million, including the likely demolition of 40,000 buildings scattered around the city.  ...

... The report — perhaps the most elaborate and detailed survey of decay conducted in any large city — found that 84,641 parcels among the city’s more than 377,000 properties are plagued by blight. Of those, some 40,000 buildings or parts of buildings should be torn down, according to the study. “Detroit needs to act aggressively to eradicate the blight in as fast a time as possible,” the report concluded. “Other cities contending with high levels of blight have never addressed more than 7,000 structures a year. At that pace, it would take Detroit more than 11 years to address” its disintegrating buildings and rubble-strewn lots. The report added that “because blight creates more blight,” the city’s deterioration would continue “without swift remedies.” It called for eliminating blight in Detroit within five years.

Comment: Link to report. Opinion: Among other things ... years of Democratic Party leadership