A building's visual order can have an inordinate impact on a community, which is why a number of area community development organizations have used façade improvement programs to battle blight and spur neighborhood economic development.
While demolition will make up the lion's share of the city's blight elimination efforts, Mayor Duggan and the Detroit Blight Authority are pushing to ensure that deconstruction also plays a role. Area training centers hope to prepare students for careers in both demolition and deconstruction.
Detroit has 40,000 vacant homes on the path to demolition. Can they be transformed from liabilities into assets through deconstruction? Local businesses' demand for reclaimed materials suggests they can.
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