Jan 12, 2016 3 min read

Journey to an art fair anywhere within a couple of hours from this region, and there’s a pretty decent chance that you’re going to find a vendor selling examples of what has come to be known as “ruins photography.”

Practitioners of ruins photography see aesthetic value in capturing the interior and exterior of abandoned structures, with Detroit being a particular hotbed of this movement. Unfortunately, in all too many places in this area, and across the Rust Belt, the intrepid shutterbugs who document our lifeless 21st century ghost towns and festering urban decay have plenty of grist for their creative endeavors.

It was not our intention to leap onto the ruins photography bandwagon with the photo that appeared on the front page of the print edition of the Observer-Reporter Tuesday. It showed a house in Monongahela that is slated for demolition this year. Two other deteriorating houses in that Mon Valley city will also be on the business end of the wrecking ball. A little deeper in the newspaper, we also had a report on steps that are being taken to demolish the onetime Washington Bar and Restaurant Supply building on South Main Street in Washington.

If only getting rid of blight were as easy as simply turning the ignition switch on a bulldozer and aiming it in the right direction. But it’s a costly, time-consuming proposition, particularly in communities that have experienced steep dips in population and struggle with a depleted tax base. In May 2014, a report found that it would cost Detroit close to $1 billion to tear down all the deserted properties that pepper that city. More recently, the Detroit Free Press noted it costs about $16,000 to tear down each vacant home in the Motor City. Even though prices can vary per municipality, that’s probably not far off from what it would cost elsewhere.

In spite of its expense, getting rid of blight is imperative. It’s a ball and chain for communities, and its presence hinders the growth and renewal these places need most desperately. According to a report prepared in 2013 for the council of governments in Steel Valley, Turtle Creek Valley and Twin Rivers, blight increases public safety costs, drains code enforcement budgets, and scares away businesses and potential new residents.

“Blight has a devastating effect…,” the report stated. “Blighted and vacant properties damage the fabric of the community, cost significant dollars to maintain, and erode the local tax base because of the tax delinquency often associated with blighted properties. Even more compelling is the fact that blight prevents private reinvestment in neighborhoods because it undermines the values of real estate, making market driven redevelopment unlikely.”

In order to fight blight, some communities have established land banks, which allow local governments to purchase blighted or underutilized land. Even though Brenda Davis, the former mayor of Washington, approached the Washington County Board of Commissioners about establishing a land bank, nothing has yet materialized. However, communities and individuals can purchase bottom-of-the-barrel properties at nominal cost through the county tax claim bureau. Donora, to cite one example, has purchased several properties this way and demolished them, making the borough more attractive and putting the property back on the tax rolls.

If blight is conquered, everyone wins.

Except, of course, all those ruins photographers.