Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Feral Houses

See the feral houses of Detroit, Michigan.

I have been to inner-city Detroit.  The term "feral houses" is no joke.  Parts of the land have gone wild and turned to urban jungle that isn't really safe for humans to venture into.  There are shadows moving against the light.  There are things creeping around.  That city has seen waves of immigrants from many countries, and oh yes, everybody's things-that-go-bump-in-the-night have come along for the ride.  And then stuck around and got real friendly with each other in the back alleys over the years.  So when you take what used to be a thriving city and suck most of the people out of it, then leave empty houses and cars and factories and what-all else just lying around ... yeah, things get WEIRD.
Tags: photography
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  • 26 comments
...go 2 levels up... Expand
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 19 2010, 06:35:13 UTC 10 years ago

Unemployment can easily lead to homelessness. That's a problem, because homelessness makes all other challenges worse or insurmountable. So preventing it is a very efficient way of reducing cost and effort in handling many other problems.
msstacy13

Re: Yes...

msstacy13

December 19 2010, 19:12:50 UTC 10 years ago

I could be misinformed, but IIRC,
the majority of these homes were simply abandoned,
not foreclosed. The owners relocated, either to another city,
or to an apartment. And there was no one buying these houses,
and the city did nothing about them,
and there they are.

When industry relocates, or simply dies away,
the most productive workers will probably find work elsewhere,
but they will not take their houses with them.
ford_prefect42

Re: Yes...

ford_prefect42

December 19 2010, 23:27:44 UTC 10 years ago

Yes. However, the city or county forecloses on them after 2 or 3 years (depending on where) of nonpayment of taxes. So those properties almost certainly currently belong to the city.
msstacy13

Re: Yes...

msstacy13

December 19 2010, 23:37:59 UTC 10 years ago

True.
They could have been used as scatter-site residences
for subsidized housing.
Or dismantled for salvage, and the lots used for something.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 19 2010, 23:53:03 UTC 10 years ago

Detroit is a little weird on this. I think their time limit is about 6 months of vacancy, after which a house is supposed to be torn down. (They don't always seem to tear those down, and they don't care why it's vacant.)