Census data shows that more Detroiters own homes than are renting. But, Ren Farley, lecturer at the Ford School, says that data could be flawed due to an undercount in Detroit.
“(Hurricane) Katrina didn’t come through Detroit,” Farley said. “There’s certainly been demolishment but the current number (of housing units) looks to me to be far too low, and that’s at the center of the mayor’s protests about the census count. Nevertheless, the number of people who own their unit has ticked up and the number of renters has gone down, so that reflects a trend.”