October 20, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Detroit, whose population has shrunk by almost two thirds since the 1950s, is littered with thousands of abandoned buildings, trash, and brush spread out over a vast geography.
The city, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, has been unable to remove much of the blight, so some nonprofits are working to fill the gap.
The Detroit Blight Authority, which is now working to clean up the city’s sparsely populated Brightmoor neighborhood, was started by Bill Pulte —grandson of William Pulte, the founder of giant homebuilder Pulte Homes.
Brian Farkas, a former Michigan assistant attorney general, signed on as executive director, and the group gets money from the Pulte family, the Skillman Foundation, and others.
The Blight Authority hires local residents to do the work, including Terrance Gore, who says the blight removal has helped stem the regular violent altercations in his neighborhood over illegal dumping and signaled to residents that they have a reason to stay.
While such efforts showcase the determination of many Detroit residents to find their own solutions to the city’s problems, Tonya Allen, Skillman’s chief executive, says she worries about “allowing the abnormal to become normal.” She hopes that when the city emerges from the bankruptcy process, nonprofits will eventually be able to work more with the city instead of working around it.
