Facing around $20 billion in debt (it’s telling that no one seems to know the exact amount), Detroit has become the largest American city to file for bankruptcy. At one point, Detroit was the country’s fourth most populous city. From the NYT: “For Detroit, the filing came as a painful reminder of a city’s rise and fall.”
Some Disassembly Required: In recent years, Detroit has been emptied of a huge percentage of its residents, leaving thousands of abandoned buildings behind. For a city that was built on building things, it’s strange that one of their key goals is to demolish things quickly enough to save the city. Here’s an interesting 2011 article from GQ’s Howie Kahn: Destroying Detroit (in Order to Save It).

+ Nate Silver spotted a 2200 square foot home in Detroit that is selling for a buck.

+ From photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, here’s a look at the ruins of Detroit.

+ And from The New Republic: The Decline of Detroit in Five Maps.