Public Land

Vacant land and buildings are among Detroit’s most valuable assets for its future. While in the abstract this may seem reasonable, to those dealing with these properties it is difficult to internalize. The sheer magnitude of the inventory, the difficulties of maintaining it, the obstacles to reuse, and the limited resources affecting every public agency in the city are all barriers to recognizing the untapped potential of the city’s public land inventory. The challenge does not stop at public land: In fact, far more vacant and underutilized properties remain in private rather  than public ownership.

Turning vacant land from burdens to assets will take more than changes in specific policies and practices. All public agencies—whether city, county, or state—will need to change how they think about land, and make equally fundamental changes to the way they acquire, manage, and dispose of land and buildings, and the way other public agencies regulate them. Without such a change in thinking and practice, the inventory of vacant land and buildings in its current condition will not only fail to become an asset, it will continue to act as a roadblock to the implementation of creative strategies for land use, environmental restoration, economic growth and neighborhood revitalization.