"Requiem for Detroit"

The Detroit News is soliciting suggestions from readers on what to do with the parts of Detroit that are abandonded. The screenshot above (click on to enlarge) shows vast swatches of land that are vacant. Their interactive map can be found HERE

At the site, click on the button to the right to see how many of those vacant properties are owned by State, county and the city. (Presumably these are abandoned properties the city now owns because of tax defaults.) A button at the top shows public schools in the completely dead zones.

The BBC 2 is airing a documentary Saturday night called "Requiem for Detroit" that focuses on the financial meltdown of the city. The Daily Telegraph (UK) article is "Detroit family homes sell for just $10"

Five years ago the average home price in Detroit was hovering around the $100,000 (£61,000) now that has fallen to $11,500 (£7,000).

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Why isn't the U.S. media telling us this? Or of the epidemic corruption in Detroit? Or in Kansas City?

See "Deconstruction: The Fate of America? - The Changing Landscape of America" by Robert J. Cristiano at NewGeography.com

There are 33,500 empty homes and 91,000 vacant residential lots. More than 300,000 buildings are vacant or in shambles. It is estimated that 40 square miles of Detroit lies abandoned.

Read the whole thing. The article is eighth ninth in a series on The Changing Landscape of America written exclusively for New Geography. All of them excellent.