A once-abandoned commercial strip in northwest Detroit’s Old Redford community is now the center of activity for artists, students, business owners, and neighbors. The transformation of Artist Village wasn’t quick, and it certainly wasn’t easy.

More the 10,000 volunteers dismantled 300 abandoned homes to repurpose the materials for new construction. Nonprofit Motor City Blight Busters partnered with public, private, and nonprofit organizations to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into the project. Hundreds of community leaders came out of the woodwork and dedicated time, money, and resources to Artist Village. And years later, the area is vibrant, home to many small businesses, artists, and a strong group of organized residents.

The Michigan Blight Elimination Guidebook

Many Michigan communities are still struggling to manage blight and vacancy issues – Detroit is, by far, not alone. Diminishing revenues often prevent municipalities themselves from taking the lead on blight elimination, but the local government, state, resident groups, and organizational partners are working together to address blight and vacancy across the state.

In light of these challenges, the Michigan Vacant Property Campaign (MVPC) recently released a comprehensive Blight Elimination Guidebook that gives communities the tools, resources, and process to address blight and vacancy at the local level.

Read the document at MIBlightGuidebook.org

“In the face of shrinking resources, this guidebook empowers leaders to develop plans that strategically address blight.” said Danielle Lewinski, vice president and director of Michigan Initiatives at the Center for Community Progress and MVPC member. “It’s step-by-step approach will not only help communities in Michigan, but can also serve as a model for cities around the country that are working hard to address vacancy and abandonment with limited dollars.”

The guidebook is hosted at miblightguidebook.org, making it an ever-changing document that compiles the most recent blight mitigation resources, opportunities, and ideas from across the state. It also serves as a primer for Michigan communities interested in developing a strategy to more effectively address blight with limited resources. The document is designed to provide municipal leaders with a variety of blight elimination resources and lead them through the development of a blight elimination plan.

Additional Blight Resources

MVPC is a collaboration of four partner organizations that each address blight and vacancy issues in unique ways: Center for Community Progress, Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, Michigan Community Resources, and Michigan Municipal League.

Here at the League, we have a number of resources, sample ordinances, articles, and case studies all addressing blight from a local government and community perspective.

Artist Village is just one great example of cooperation and community activism that has sparked economic development and civic engagement. Communities across the state – small towns in the UP, villages in northern and mid-Michigan, and cities on the east and west side – all have incredible success stories in their effort to eliminate blight and fill vacant structures. There’s still a lot of work to do, but this resource will guide communities to promote strategic and collaborative blight elimination on a limited budget.

Feel free to contact the League or MVPC for more information on the report and blight elimination assistance.