Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has plans to demolish 1,500 abandoned structures in the city over the next three months.
In a press release, Bing's office said the "Summer 2012 Demolition Plan" is part of a larger effort to raze 10,000 dangerous and abandoned buildings by the end of the mayor's first term. Over 4,500 homes and other empty buildings have been demolished so far.
Removing abandoned structures in Detroit, the press release says, is a key part of Mayor Bing's "blight elimination and neighborhood stabilization plans, the U.S. Department of Justice Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and the Safe Routes to School campaign."
Some 350 of the buildings slated for removal this summer were suggested by students, parents and patrol volunteers at area high schools.
Mayor Bing is set to make an official announcement later this afternoon at the site of one home set for demolition today on Detroit's east side.
-John Klein Wilson, Michigan Radio Newsroom
