48 vacant buildings blight downtown Detroit

The Detroit News reports:

Some four dozen big buildings in the heart of Detroit are languishing, vacant, because demand for commercial and office space has dropped and money to demolish or renovate them has dried up.

These are among the most visible ghosts in a city of ghostly buildings -- the harsh, physical evidence of a community that has lost 1 million people from its peak population of 1.8 million in the 1950s.

Some are in shocking condition: sidewalks cordoned off to protect pedestrians from falling chunks of facade; trees growing from roofs.

Great moments in Blue America.