Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
It’s well known that Detroit has experienced a large population decline leaving large swaths of land abandoned. The oft cited number is 40 square miles. But as Kate Davidson at Changing Gears reports, nobody is quite sure where that number came from. New assessments suggest that the figure includes the city’s extensive park space, cemeteries and roads. While Detroit still faces challenges related to unused spaces roughly equivalent to the size of Manhattan, it seems the figures that the city’s own planners are using may have been inflated.
Image from Andy Krupp
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3 comments
Detroit: The Ford brothers’ dreamland. A city without streetcars.
While wrong, 40 “feels” low when you drive around.
Shouldn’t 40 square miles be “40 square miles” in the headline if the figure’s veracity is doubted?