The Motor City, Detroit, once the fourth biggest city in the United States, filed the largest municipal bankruptcy on July 18. This, in many ways, will be a huge benefit, considering that this once flourishing city has nearly 150,000 vacant homes and 700,000 people in 360 square kilometres. By declaring municipal bankruptcy, a new plan can be implemented for the beginning of a new start, but how would a plan like this work?

As of today, there are over 10,000 vacant homes in neighbourhoods that are unlikely to ever rebound. The plan that Detroit Future City has implemented is to vacate the rest of the citizens living in these “ghettos”, and tearing down the land completely to plant orchards and hardwood. In doing so, many benefits can be seen. Not only will the “streets” see reduced violence and crime rates, but just the growth of this urban landscape would attract more investors. Real estate investors might consider the city to be an adequate candidate for purchasing homes in, if they see recovery.

Although there are many skeptics about this plan, including many current residents of Detroit, there is no question whether this city needs a committed team to bring it back on its feet, and I believe the Future City’s project for restructure can be a successful one.

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/07/detroiters-living-amid-ruins-resist-moving-as-city-struggles-to-restructure/