Detroit seeks to sell off 92 parks

is an article from the Detroit Free Press. Almost one third of the city is vacant land, with the buildings already demolished. And almost 1.2 million people have moved out of the city since 1960. I wasn't able to attend last week's session at the National Building Museum about planning for contraction (not the title of the session), but this is a topic that I find interesting, especially for places like upstate New York. Youngstown, Ohio has a big initiative in this area. There is also the international Shrinking Cities project. Niagara Falls, NY had an initiative in this vein as well, although it was junked by a new mayor. Somewhere, I have copies of some of their reports.

From the Free Press article:

One-quarter of Detroit's 367 parks could be sold under a proposal designed to help the city shed dozens of its smallest and most worn-down parks in an effort to aid others and position the land for redevelopment.

More than half of the 92 parks are less than an acre in size -- so-called pocket parks -- tucked in neighborhoods. Some have swing sets, jungle gyms, slides and benches. They make up 124 acres of the city's roughly 6,000 acres of parkland.

Many of those neighborhoods are no longer dense in population and are dominated by urban prairies as the result of demolished homes, conditions Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration cites in its proposal.

The plan to sell off city parkland has generated relief among some neighbors hoping to see the lots improve and anger among those who say the city is getting rid of precious assets.
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October 24
Smart Growth
Right Sizing America’s Shrinking Cities through Land Banking and Green Infrastructure
Wednesday, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Joe Schilling of Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute and Dan Kildee, Treasurer of Genesee County, Michigan will discuss innovative strategies employed by communities seeking to address shrinking populations and declining investments in center cities. The discussion will focus on how to address these problems by taking advantage of existing resources and balancing the fiscal impacts of programs and incentives.