. >> arthur george a professor of urban studies at wayne state university here, has written extensivelybout detroit. the neighborhood where his family settled mirrors the cities history. >> this empty lot is where his father's home once stood. what goes through your mind now? >> i wish i didn't have to use my imagination, to see what life may have been like when he was a child in this neighborhood. neighborhoods like this, eerily shells. row can do online and find single family hopes for less than $20,000. even less than $500. >> tens of thousands of abandon homes are spread across 139 square miles. an area big enough to include san francisco, and the island of manhattan. a decent home at a good price, might be right next to a boarded up old billing or an empty lot. and that potential bargain may have plenty of expensive strings attached. >> detroit has a very highly developed illegal house stripping industry. we are talking about basic facilities like furnaces. sinks, tubs. washing machines. banisters. light pictures anything that can possibly be scrapped or sold on the second hand mar