SHRINKING DETROIT HAS 12,000 ABANDONED H

Detroit, UNITED STATES: SHRINKING DETROIT HAS 12,000 ABANDONED HOMES The remains of an abandoned home in Detroit are seen 15 June, 2005, in what was once a thriving middle class area. There are more than 12,000 abandoned homes in the Detroit area, a byproduct of decades of layoffs at the city's auto plants and people leaving for the suburbs. And despite scores of attempts by government and civic leaders to set the city straight, the automobile capital of the world seems trapped in a vicious cycle of urban decay. Detroit has lost more than half its population since its heyday in the 1950's. The fleeing businesses and homeowners left behind about 36 square miles (58 square kilometers) of vacant land. That's roughly the size of San Francisco and about a quarter of Detroit's total land mass. AFP PHOTO/JEFF HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)