It is well known that vacant and abandoned homes have become a public safety threat and an overall burden on the recovery of neighborhoods in the City of Detroit. The scale of abandonment and blight in Detroit has become a national headline (“Detroit to Shrink Itself, Historic Homes and All”, “Among the Ghosts of Detroit”), as well as the focus of a new genre of photography and documentary (“At National Building Museum, a lens on the disintegration of Detroit”). Recognizing the problem, Mayor Bing has put a high priority on clearing the dangerous structures, and set an ambitious goal of demolishing 10,000 structures during his term in office. The City of Detroit is hoping to be more transparent in its effort to erase these public nuisances, by identifying vacant and dangerous buildings that have been demolished, and indicate where future demolitions are planned.
Data Driven Detroit wishes to recognize and thank the Woodward Corridor Initiative for generously providing funding for the development of this data and tool. It also wishes to thank the City of Detroit for allowing it the opportunity to collaborate in this effort.
For more on the Process of Demolishing Buildings, click here for Detroit 2020’s coverage.