Is Squatting the "Highest and Best Use" in Some Vacant Neighborhoods?

Image Credit: The Washington Post 

The landscapes of American cities that have suffered from crises both financial and environmental- think Detroit and New Orleans- are dotted with vacant lots that are vestiges of once-abandoned properties that have been cleared away or deteriorated beyond repair. Records concerning the ownership of these lots are difficult to obtain and often nonexistent and some residents in largely vacant areas have co-opted adjoining parcels in a bid to reclaim many of these lots from overgrowth and decay. As Emily Badger writes, residents of Northwest Detroit's Brightmoor have used these lots for urban gardens, orchards, and even vineyards, infusing dreary blocks with well-tended splashes of green. Residents are technically "squatting" on these vacant lots, but their practices are seen by many as beneficial to preserving neighborhoods from complete blight. While the law favoring the highest and best use of land, driven by the economic theory of utility, usually equates "highest and best" with the most economically profitable use, many of these neighborhoods are devoid of capital and investor attention. Residents' efforts to acquire vacant land enhance sustainability, aesthetic improvement, and community pride in areas that are not often hotbeds of these initiatives. While the reflex is to weed the squatters out of these lots, the benefits of residents' improvements to various blocks, often implemented after attempts to acquire land through legal channels, could substantiate the theory that these "squatters" are performing unexpected acts of community development and should be supported by local governments.