Demolitions
Federal Agencies Investigating the Rising Costs of Detroit's Blight Program
Detroit's aggressive blight reduction strategy, to demolish vacant homes by the thousands, is coming under scrutiny for rising costs. The FBI and the U.S. Inspector General are investigating.
Detroit Receives Funding for Another Demolition Push
A recent influx of money to Detroit for demolitions of abandoned properties brings the city's total to $107 million. That money has established Detroit as the country's proving ground for the idea that demolitions stabilize struggling neighborhoods.
Debunking the Data Behind Seattle's 'Explosion of Demolitions'
According to an article by The Urbanist, some Seattle publications might have been caught telling people what they want to hear, rather than offering clear perspective on the building trends of the city.
Dallas Delays Controversial Downtown Demolitions
In what is described as a "Penn Station moment," Dallas has approved a demolition delay ordinance for historic buildings downtown. This is an uncharacteristic victory for preservation.
Op-Ed: Maryland Should Support Baltimore with Money, Not Bulldozers
A response to the conventional thinking about demolitions as the antidote to blighted, vacant properties and the negative effects that follow.
How Cities Are Stopping the Blight Contagion
Every city with neighborhoods in decline and a lack of demand for new investment is faced with the challenge of how to address blight. Each city's challenges are unique, but many are finding new and effective strategies to end the spread of blight.
Demolitions Increased After Vancouver's 'Heritage Action Plan' Took Effect
Vancouver, British Columbia's Heritage Action Plan went into effect in January of this year. According to an article in the Vancouver Courier, the policy has failed to achieve its intended goals.
Using Social Media to Celebrate Historic Buildings
For almost as long as social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have been in existence, users have had a morbid fascination with examples of derelict and destroyed architecture. Social media, however, can be more celebratory of the past.
Massive Detroit Foreclosures Push Out Black Homeowners
A Detroit reborn sounds great, but what if the residents of “blighted” areas don’t want to leave? Many feel they have no choice in a process that has been compared to racial relocation. Meanwhile, activists scramble to give residents options.
The Death of a Bridge in Los Angeles
The demolition of the Riverside-Figueroa Bridge spanning the Los Angeles River between Elysian Valley and Cypress Park has commenced. Advocates lament a lost opportunity for open space as well as the car-centric design of the replacement span.
A Closer Look at Detroit's Blighted Properties
The New York Times has produced a pair of visualization tools to present the findings of the recent report by Detroit's Blight Removal Task Force.
Report Recommends $850 Million to Eradicate Detroit's Blight
The Detroit Blight Removal Task Force released its highly anticipated "Every neighborhood has a future...And it doesn't include blight" report today.
Preservation Concerns Raised Over Milwaukee’s Blight Reduction Plans
Although Milwaukee had been insulated from population loss compared to many other legacy cities, the Great Recession has required the city to launch an $11.6 million blight reduction program.
Saving Endangered Modern Homes
The trend toward bigger houses makes the efficient and cool styles of modernism look inadequate to many Americans. A new article by the Architectural Record studies the difficult work of preservation efforts all over the country.
Ritzy Neighborhoods Struggling Against Infill
The market forces that push developers and landowners to build “more” and “bigger” have cropped up in some of the swankiest neighborhoods in Portland. So far, neighbors who oppose the projects are finding scant legal recourse to prevent the changes.
Detroit's Bankruptcy Plan Accelerates Blight Reduction
To drastically increase the rate of Detroit’s ongoing transformation, the city's bankruptcy plan, recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, would spend $520 million on its ongoing blight reduction efforts in the hopes of razing 400-500 homes a week.
Who Will Benefit from JPMorgan's Record Mortgage Penalty?
Ben Protess and Jessica Silver-Greenberg provide a breakdown of how JPMorgan's $13 billion settlement over its sale of bad mortgage investments will be distributed to various public entities. How much will trickle down to struggling homeowners?
Struggling Cities Demolish Their Way to Growth
Saddled with thousands of vacant buildings, and little hope of recovering lost population, cities such as Baltimore, Buffalo, and Cleveland are pursuing large-scale demolitions. Shrinking cities are changing the very practice of urban planning.
Federal Funds Intended to Help Homeowners Will Instead Fund Demolitions
Federal money earmarked to help prevent foreclosures and assist underwater homeowners will instead be used to fund housing demolitions in a $100 million pilot project in five Michigan cities.
Much Despised Building Finally Comes Down
In Hartford, Connecticut, a former department store that locals call "butt-ugly" is being demolished. Delays in its destruction had come to symbolize all that is wrong with Hartford politics, says Josh Goodman of Governing.
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