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Derelict Zones

Abandoned buildings and vacant land are the hallmarks of derelict zones, that is, areas in which disinvestment, vacancy, and degradation are prevalent. The number and size of derelict zones in American cities have increased since the turn of the 20th century. The processes by which buildings and land become obsolete and undervalued in North American cities, towns, and rural areas have been hotly debated. Some view dereliction as an inevitable stage in an efficient land market, whereas others criticize the inequalities that give rise to derelict zones.

Causes OF Dereliction

Newly developed locations have up-to-date buildings that become obsolescent as they age and deteriorate. Over time, buildings will be abandoned and land may be left vacant and ripe for redevelopment. Eventually, buildings will be renovated or replaced. According to this view, dereliction is a process through which obsolescent buildings and land uses of declining value are replaced by new structures and more valuable activities.

Other scholars also view derelict zones as the inevitable outcome of a capitalist market in which investment and its benefits are spatially uneven and socially unequal. Dereliction provides financial opportunities for investors who purchase deteriorating properties at depressed prices, hold them while deferring maintenance, and sell when property values increase. Investors disregard the high costs of disinvestment for nearby residents and business owners who live and work in a deteriorating environment that threatens their everyday lives and livelihoods. The presence of derelict buildings spreads a pall, stigmatizing nearby properties and their inhabitants. As a result, dereliction often spreads by contagion, with buildings and locations near derelict buildings being at much greater risk for reduced maintenance and deterioration.

Uneven and Unequal Geographies of Dereliction

Derelict zones are concentrated in places that lack the resources to resist them. Typically, central-city areas dominated by low-income populations, racial minorities, and public housing are the first to experience deterioration. Since the early 1970s, the loss of large manufacturing plants and their relocation to the suburbs and small towns hastened disinvestment in central-city neighborhoods. Those who could not follow their jobs remained behind, often isolated from well-paid employment. Discriminatory housing policies that facilitated the suburbanization of white Americans while hampering minority home ownership heightened racial segregation, putting minority areas at greater risk for disinvestment. Public housing programs concentrated the poor in high-rise developments, leading to the abandonment of aging but low-cost rental housing in central-city areas. Over time, many public housing developments also experienced disinvestment, becoming some of the most infamous derelict zones.

Recently, dereliction has increased in suburban areas, small towns, and rural areas where economic restructuring has rendered many locations less valuable for production. Faced with the economic burdens associated with job loss and a declining property tax base, local governments and communities have not always been able to reverse the subsequent deterioration. Where local residents are empowered and work closely with government agencies, evaluations of derelict zones as stigmatized places of little value can be resisted.

  • derelict zones
  • public housing
  • zoning
  • land
  • small towns
  • property
  • town
ValeriePreston
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412952422.n66
See also

Suggested Reading

Jakle, J., & Wilson, D.(1992). Derelict landscapes: The wasting of America's built environment.

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