Cleveland's Building Woes

Today's New York Times reported on the growing number of home foreclosures in Cleveland, Ohio. Alex Koslowitz's piece "All Boarded Up" provides a preview of this Sunday's NYT Magazine feature story. Cleveland estimates that 1 in 13 houses is vacant, some 10,000 foreclosures in the last two years. The Cuyahoga County treasurer claims the real numbers are actually higher. Conceiving of Cleveland as a bellweather, cities are turning to it for guidance. To read the piece, click here.

Above: Reuben Cox, photographer. Scavengers frequently descend on abandoned houses, removing appliances, plumbing fixtures and, as in this kitchen, copper pipes. NY Times 05.03.2009.