Detroit Construction and Demolition
Executive Summary
Blight is a serious issue in the city of Detroit; in dealing with this issue, the mechanism of demolition poses a variety of issues relating to safety, sustainability, and funding due to the financial costs associated with demolition. To deal with blight more sustainably, deconstruction prior to complete demolition was proposed. In response, the PCLP Spring 2022 fellows crafted several recommendations, divided by immediate, intermediate, and future actions. The recommendations included: (1) addressing current demolition practices, (2) increasing accountability for residents from city leadership, (3) ordinances concerning the future of deconstruction, and (4) future actions that will be necessary for these changes to be sustainable, both environmentally and policy-wise. After weeks of research, the PCLP fellows concluded that these actions are the most financially and politically feasible to accomplish. Further research is needed, yet these recommendations provided a starting point for the Green Task Force to advocate for environmental policy in the City of Detroit.
Community Partner
Detroit Green Task Force Construction and Demolition Subcommittee