Property abandonment and disinvestment are major planning and policy concerns for shrinking cities. Vacant and abandoned properties tend to lead to more abandonment, continuing disinvestment and deteriorating housing conditions. Traditional planning strategies that rely on the private sector to redevelop vacant and abandoned properties have been shown in the literature to be largely ineffectual. A more effective strategy might be to facilitate the transfer of these vacant and abandoned properties to non-profits for conversion into community assets such as affordable housing, which might then act as a redevelopment catalyst or stabilizing force. However, some scholars have argued against building government-assisted housing in declining cities because of potential detrimental impacts on fragile housing markets that already have a surplus of housing and where replacement (construction) costs exceed the local housing values.
My doctoral research will explore the empirical validity of both perspectives by using Detroit as a case study to investigate the role affordable housing development has played and could play in revitalizing neighbourhoods in shrinking cities. This poster will present the findings from a situational analysis of subsidized housing development in Detroit, which provides the necessary foundational understanding of the historical development patterns of affordable housing production in the city from 1990-2010.
