Bulldoze the Ghost ‘Burbs, Return Them to Nature

OPS:  Gee, it’s so simple why didn’t we think about it before?  We’ll just bulldoze the ghettos and…… oh, wait…. So, let’s see… the Tax payers will (acquire the land) pay for the industrial (in some cases, super-fund type) cleanup – maybe return the land to nature (for a while) then the transnationals can buy the land back after it’s been ‘laundered’.    Hmmmmm.

Intriguing Plan in Michael Moore’s Home Town: Bulldoze the Ghost ‘Burbs, Return Them to Nature

Concept of razing post-industrial “rust belt” empty neighborhoods draws interest in Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other cities.

The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, Michigan, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature.

Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 percent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area.

The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint.

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country.

Mr Kildee said he will concentrate on 50 cities, identified in a recent study by the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington think-tank, as potentially needing to shrink substantially to cope with their declining fortunes.

via Intriguing Plan in Michael Moore’s Home Town: Bulldoze the Ghost ‘Burbs, Return Them to Nature | Environment | AlterNet.