'doze Detroit!

Telegraph: Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline

That's definitely 'Shovel Ready'!
But this smacks of 'KELO' all over again. What about those who have tried to hang on to their homes?

Point of order: Why are we having to read this stuff in British papers?

 

Oh, for crying out loud! Are you NOT paying attention?!!!!! Are you TRYING to get me to list the things the government is doing, right now, that 'dont fall in its historic purview'?

I dont get it... and I suggest you read my post again. What is it about 'Shovel Ready' context, you DONT understand? I'm the one who made the 'Shovel Ready' reference and I stand by it. It is 'supposition' based on current events and context.
and
What -again- is it you THINK I dont understand about KELO?

Point of fact: Detroit already has been dozing blighted houses and has been for several years.

It might have helped if you had weighed in on the issue instead of 'correcting' me.

 

Well, since no one else is going to comment, let's recap:

Many cities have acted on existing laws and regulations to demolish blighted and abandoned properties in the past. Detroit, notable among them.
- housing that has been maintained by the owner/resident is not affected, except in the sense that property values are maintained to a better degree.

There is a pilot program in Flint that, instead of dealing with individual properties, 'greenbelts' neighborhoods.
- current resident owners are bought out so that a contiguous area may be 'landscaped' in order to make the area more attractive.

- The article doesnt mention resistance among any current property owners who might have ties or reason to stay in their houses. Does that mean there is none? Or does that mean there's none at this time?

Now to answer how this reaches beyond locality. It reaches the Federal Level by way of FUNDING for these programs. In essence, stimulus money allocations'. As I said these are essentially 'shovel ready' uses.
- The cities in question are largely in states that, like Michigan, are bleeding red ink.

It's unlikely the reporter just pulled administration interest in the program out of his ass. And it's certainly both a 'shovel ready' and a reasonable use of the funds that may exist now or in the future.

The stated aim of making those cities habitable again brings up the question of 'future ramifications'. Should the programs be successful, then the property values of remaining residences and building will increase.. in some cases, greatly increase. Where does that leave the surviving residents?

Which brings up KELO. It's easier and less costly for a city to maintain a 'Green Belt' than individual lots or clusters of lots. Thus some owners will face 'Eminent Domain' eviction and buy out. Unlike KELO they will have no grounds for suit as the intended use IS for the 'common interest'. But both KELO and these programs are essentially to increase value, thus tax revenue.

Some who remain, however will be forced to sell for no other reason than they cannot afford the taxes on the upvalued properties.. witness the 'gentrification' effect.

So... to one trained, albeit in 'continuing education' and on the job, to foresee 'unintended consequences, and once highly paid to do so...there are INDEED issues that must be addressed.

Perhaps not at the moment but certainly close enough at hand.