Foreclosures Foretell Future Slums?

Photo from source, The Atlantic

One of the trends, back when there was still a building boom in Las Vegas, was to squeeze as many homes into a plot of land as possible. Some of the developers used creative, but attractive techniques to make the most of what they had. Others just piled rows of boxes upon each other, with a minimum of space around and between them. Some of these developments contained homes that had 1-car garages, no sidewalk, no driveway, no yard, walls directly around three sides, and one spot on the whole property big enough for a patio set. And they weren't apartments or condos, they were fully detatched homes.

The Other Half and I joked that they looked so much like future slums that all they needed was a row of concertina wire around the top of the walls to complete the look. If this story is accurate, we may see that come to pass, along with nicer neighborhoods, and who knows, maybe our own. . .

[Excerpt]

The Next Slum?

Strange days are upon the residents of many a suburban cul-de-sac. Once-tidy yards have become overgrown, as the houses they front have gone vacant. Signs of physical and social disorder are spreading.

[snip] In December, after a stray bullet blasted through her son’s bedroom and into her own, Laurie Talbot, who’d moved to Windy Ridge from New York in 2005, told The Charlotte Observer, “I thought I’d bought a home in Pleasantville. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that stuff like this would happen.”. .

Read more at: The Atlantic