Using Spatial Analysis to Investigate Housing Vacancy in Detroit, Michigan

Claudie Mabry, Final GIS Project, Fall 2013

“It is estimated that the city has as many as 78,000 vacant

buildings, and neighbors say these homes have been magnets

for crime, from drug dealing to thievery of materials inside

pushing down property values and making neighborhoods

unsafe” – Detroit Free Press, 2013

Housing Vacancy in DetroitResearch Questions:

• Where are the most vacant areas in Detroit located?

• To what degree is the scale and impact of vacancy in Detroit’s geography?

Methodology:

• Population Count

• Population Under the Poverty Line

• Tax Foreclosure

• Residential Structure Demolition

• Housing Unit Count

Limitations:

• No access to abandonment data

• No demolition data beyond 2006

Assumptions:

• Data is outdated due to low funding

• Data counts has either increased or decreased

• Parks and open spaces overlap with vacancy post-demolition

Detroit is filled with pockets of Low Population

For those who remain, there are significant levels of Poverty

Correlated with High Poverty, Tax Foreclosures Have Proven to be its Own Perpetual Crisis

As a Result, one can identify pockets of High Housing Vacancy

Some Spaces are More Vulnerable to Vacancy Compared to Others

As a Result of High Vacancy, Housing Demolitions are Common in Parts of the City

Spatial Risk levels in Housing Demolition and Housing Vacancy Share Some Overlaps

All These Themes Contribute to Low Housing Unit Counts in Detroit

• Areas with high vacancy risk correlate with high demolition data, though not extreme

• Demolition can be better measured with abandonment which does not necessarily have correlation with

vacancy, because vacant units may still be structurally sound, compared to abandoned which are more

likely to be uninhabitable

• Each theme analyzed shows spatial pockets within Detroit’s geography, more so at the neighborhood

level rather than the city-wide level

• Parks and open spaces overlap with housing vacancy, proving that new parks have been developed since

the last recorded Census

Outcomes

“5-Year Estimates Block Group Data." “2010 Census Population

and Housing Unit Counts.” “Selected Housing Characteristics.”

TIGER/Line® with Demographic Data. American Community

Survey (2007-2011). American Fact Finder. U.S. Census Bureau,

07 Dec. 2013.

"Download GIS Files." City of Detroit. Planning and Development

Department, 02 Dec. 2013.

"SEMCOG Data." SEMCOG Data. Southeast Michigan Council of

Governments, 08 Dec. 2013.

Bibliography