Abandoned Homes, The Blight of Brightmoor: Detroit, Michigan

The Brightmoor section of Detroit sure has changed over the past 100 years.

Brightmoor began in 1921 when 160 acres of land was purchased in order to create a place where migrant workers could afford to live. It opened in 1922, but now it needed residents. People from Appalachia were lured to Michigan with some kind of assurance that they would land a good-paying gig at one of Detroit’s automobile plants.

All seemed to be going well, and 2,913 more acres were purchased by 1924 in order to accommodate everyone. While more homes were being built, employees had to stick it out in make-do shacks and shantys until their new houses were finished. The majority of residents did indeed land jobs in the auto industry and all ended up living in average comfort.

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When the 1970s hit, the number of residents had changed, many had split for places where they could find work. Twenty years later more people left in an attempt to get away from the rapid increase in crimes.

According to Wiki, a 2009 article in the Metro Times stated "Ghetto stereotypes thrive here—broad-daylight drug dealing, pre-teen pregnancies, long-gone or never-known fathers, and houses falling apart or giving way to vacant lots".

During the 2010s, attempts were made – some successfully – to clean up the Brightmoor neighborhoods. Hundreds of lots were cleaned-up but in 2024, it still has a long way to go.

Take a look at the gallery below to see how sections of the Brightmoor area of Detroit appear in the 2020s.