Blight is eating American cities. Mobile, Alabama, stopped it

In Minot, we’re not immune to blight. Through the help of HUD resources, we’re making progress on flood-impacted zombie homes, but that’s far from a solution to the larger systemic challenges and root causes. And the scary thing about blight — it breeds more blight. It’s like a cancer or a weed that spreads.

In Mobile, Alabama the problem was far more pervasive. By one measure, nearly 22% of their 57,000 properties were in a blight zone. But they’re making progress against the larger problem by attacking many systemic challenges and changing long and dearly held attitudes about property rights and ownership. Get the full fascinating story on the complexity and effort that goes into root-cause solutions and where it’s coming from in the old South.