Corey Cavalier, PE, CFM

The US government is looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature Photo: GETTY

What is a city (or town) and its public utilities / services to do when half the population has left along with the factory(s) that used to employ them?  In one of the most intriguing articles that I have read in a while, I had to learn from the London Telegraph that Flint, Michigan’s unique response was to initiate a program to bulldoze much of the city.  In other words, they want to destroy a large part of the city to save the rest.

You might ask yourself why they would do this.  The answer lies in the fact that expenses were not halved as the number of taxpayers were.  Flint still had the same sprawling utilities and roadways to maintain, though only half as much is necessary.  Policemen and garbage men have to cover the same area, though much of it is now empty.  In fact, the empty buildings are decaying, detracting from any potential investment, and attracting criminal activity.  In short, the remaining population only needs half the city that they currently have and are paying for.  As a result, Flint is razing the empty buildings and returning the lots to nature.  They are even looking to help relocate the few remaining holdouts of the most empty areas so as to build a more compact version of itself.  As they do this, they can reduce the services and maintenance that is required and make the city more efficient and affordable for its remaining taxpayers.

I know that this is not necessarily an article about engineering, although it does apply to the utilities and roadways that engineers design and maintain.  It is also a unique and intriguing solution that becomes more relevant as the economy causes more and more upheaval.  I would not be surprised if a program like this would be of interest to some former textile mill towns here in North Carolina.  Certainly the Obama administration thinks it is relevant as it seems to be looking to promote the idea to numerous localities across the country.

I would also like to note that this story of regression in Michigan follows up another story about 20 counties that have decided to grind up some of its asphalt roads into gravel.  The reason for this is to reduce the costs of maintenance.  Presumably there are also less people using them these days compared to when they were originally paved.  In any case, I have heard people joke that the asphalt roads in Michigan had already naturally deteriorated into gravel due to lack of maintenance, which helped spur the development of so many SUVs from Detroit.  At this, I will note that I, myself, have never been to the state.

Tags: civil engineering, development, London Telegraph, planning, roads, utilities