(An Opinion)
Shards of broken glass are laid out in the yard under a long-forgotten bedroom window, like an ancient mosaic walkway that’s inviting to no one. Through the busted window, charred walls catch the shadows from trees overhead as the sunlight spills in from the collapsed roof. Maybe you heard someone rustling around inside. Maybe you didn’t.
All of us in Birmingham live in somewhat close proximity to one of these slow-moving tragedies: abandoned properties left to rot by absentee owners who have seemingly voided their social contracts with neighbors. All that remains is a parting gift of immovable neglect. In a state like Alabama, that’s been favorable to landowners since it was founded, we’ve come to realize this is a problem that resists easy answers.
But I think we’re close…