This Is As Bad As It Gets

As reported at CNN.com,  Youngstown, OH is demolishing scores of buildings that have remained abandoned in order to convert the costs of infrastructure and maintenance into open space.

“Under the initiative, dubbed Plan 2010, city officials are also monitoring thinly-populated blocks. When only one or two occupied homes remain, the city offers incentives – up to $50,000 in grants – for those home owners to move, so that the entire area can be razed. The city will save by cutting back on services like garbage pick-ups and street lighting in deserted areas.”

I wonder how close Renton has come to this over the years. [See the entire article]