Plans For Reviving Detroit

Detroit’s recovery has been spectacularly uneven, with a sterling renovated downtown area surrounded by languishing, dilapidated neighborhoods. According to CityLab, two new reports reveal plans that could bring earners into the city and revitalize current residents.

One report from the National Bureau of Economic Research argues that redeveloping the blighted neighborhoods adjacent to downtown Detroit will attract the middle and upper classes. That will improve wages and land values and create a strong tax base.

Research from the Urban Institute says that Detroit can borrow strategies used by other cities to make homeownership more affordable.

Post-industrial Syracuse started a Home Equity Protection program in 2000, which helps alleviate concerns among buyers that they’re making a bad investment. ... Another successful initiative is Austin’s Homebase Program, which helps low-income folks purchase homes through a shared equity housing model. Cleveland also has a great lease-purchase program, which lets participants who may not qualify for mortgage loans transition from renting to owning their homes over a period of time.

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