A $500 house in Detroit : rebuilding an abandoned home and an American city

Drew Philp, an idealistic college student from a working-class Michigan family, withdraws from the comforts of life on a university campus in search of a place to live where he can make a difference. He sets his sights on Detroit, the failed metropolis of abandoned buildings, widespread poverty, and rampant crime—a complicated source of national fascination, often stereotyped and little understood. Arriving with no job, no friends, and no money, Philp is naïvely determined to fix the huge, broken city with his own hands and on his own terms. A year later, he saves up and buys a ramshackle house for five hundred dollars in the east side neighborhood known as Poletown and moves in. Philp gets what he pays for. The roomy Queen Anne he now owns has been abandoned for a decade and is little more than a clapboard shell on a crumbling brick foundation, filled with heaping piles of trash (including most of a chopped-up minivan), and missing windows, heat, water, electricity, and a functional roof. The landscape of the surrounding neighborhood resembles an urban prairie: overgrown fields dotted with houses that haven’t been demolished or burned to the ground—some of them well-maintained by Detroiters who have chosen to remain in the city, but many, like the Queen Anne, left vacant and in complete disrepair. Based on a __BuzzFeed__ essay that resonated with millions of readers, __A $500 House in Detroit__ is Philp’s raw and earnest account of rebuilding everything but the frame of his house, nail by nail and room by room. It’s also the story of a young man finding his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation. As he assimilates into the community of Detroiters around him, Philp guides readers through the city’s vibrant history and engages in urgent conversations about gentrification, racial tensions, and class warfare. We witness his concept of Detroit shift, expand, and evolve as his plan to save the city gives way to a life forged from political meaning, personal connection, and collective purpose. Part social history, part brash generational statement, part comeback story, __A $500 House____in Detroit__ is an intimate account of the tentative revival of an American city—home by home and person by person—and a glimpse at a new way forward for generations to come. Drew Philp, an idealistic college student from a working-class Michigan family, withdraws from the comforts of life on a university campus in search of a place to live where he can make a difference. He sets his sights on Detroit, the failed metropolis of abandoned buildings, widespread poverty, and rampant crime--a complicated source of national fascination, often stereotyped and little understood. Arriving with no job, no friends, and no money, Philp is naïvely determined to fix the huge, broken city with his own hands and on his own terms. A year later, he saves up and buys a ramshackle house for five hundred dollars in the east side neighborhood known as Poletown and moves in. Philp gets what he pays for. The roomy Queen Anne he now owns has been abandoned for a decade and is little more than a clapboard shell on a crumbling brick foundation, filled with heaping piles of trash (including most of a chopped-up minivan), and missing windows, heat, water, electricity, and a functional roof. The landscape of the surrounding neighborhood resembles an urban prairie: overgrown fields dotted with houses that haven't been demolished or burned to the ground--some of them well-maintained by Detroiters who have chosen to remain in the city, but many, like the Queen Anne, left vacant and in complete disrepair. Based on a BuzzFeed essay that resonated with millions of readers, A $500 House in Detroit is Philp's raw and earnest account of rebuilding everything but the frame of his house, nail by nail and room by room. It's also the story of a young man finding his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation. As he assimilates into the community of Detroiters around him, Philp guides readers through the city's vibrant history and engages in urgent conversations about gentrification, racial tensions, and class warfare. We witness his concept of Detroit shift, expand, and evolve as his plan to save the city gives way to a life forged from political meaning, personal connection, and collective purpose. Part social history, part brash generational statement, part comeback story, A $500 House in Detroit is an intimate account of the tentative revival of an American city--home by home and person by person--and a glimpse at a new way forward for generations to come Drew Philp, an idealistic college student from a working-class Michigan family, withdraws from the comforts of life on a university campus in search of a place to live where he can make a difference. He sets his sights on Detroit, the failed metropolis of abandoned buildings, widespread poverty, and rampant crime'a complicated source of national fascination, often stereotyped and little understood. Arriving with no job, no friends, and no money, Philp is naIvely determined to fix the huge, broken city with his own hands and on his own terms. A year later, he saves up and buys a ramshackle house for five hundred dollars in the east side neighborhood known as Poletown and moves in. Philp gets what he pays for. The roomy Queen Anne he now owns has been abandoned for a decade and is little more than a clapboard shell on a crumbling brick foundation, filled with heaping piles of trash (including most of a chopped-up minivan), and missing windows, heat, water, electricity, and a functional roof. The landscape of the surrounding neighborhood resembles an urban prairie: overgrown fields dotted with houses that haven't been demolished or burned to the ground'some of them well-maintained by Detroiters who have chosen to remain in the city, but many, like the Queen Anne, left vacant and in complete disrepair. Based on a BuzzFeed essay that resonated with millions of readers, A $500 House in Detroit is Philp's raw and earnest account of rebuilding everything but the frame of his house, nail by nail and room by room. It's also the story of a young man finding his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation. As he assimilates into the community of Detroiters around him, Philp guides readers through the city's vibrant history and engages in urgent conversations about gentrification, racial tensions, and class warfare. We witness his concept of Detroit shift, expand, and evolve as his plan to save the city gives way to a life forged from political meaning, personal connection, and collective purpose. Part social history, part brash generational statement, part comeback story, A $500 House in Detroit is an intimate account of the tentative revival of an American city'home by home and person by person'and a glimpse at a new way forward for generations to come A young college grad buys a house in Detroit for $500 and attempts to restore it—and his new neighborhood—to its original glory in this "deeply felt, sharply observed personal quest to create meaning and community out of the fallen...A standout" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review). Drew Philp, an idealistic college student from a working-class Michigan family, decides to live where he can make a difference. He sets his sights on Detroit, the failed metropolis of abandoned buildings, widespread poverty, and rampant crime. Arriving with no job, no friends, and no money, Philp buys a ramshackle house for five hundred dollars in the east side neighborhood known as Poletown. The roomy Queen Anne he now owns is little more than a clapboard shell on a crumbling brick foundation, missing windows, heat, water, electricity, and a functional roof. A $500 House in Detroit is Philp's raw and earnest account of rebuilding everything but the frame of his house, nail by nail and room by room. "Philp is a great storyteller...[and his] engrossing" ( Booklist ) tale is also of a young man finding his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation. We witness his concept of Detroit shift, expand, and evolve as his plan to save the city gives way to a life forged from political meaning, personal connection, and collective purpose. As he assimilates into the community of Detroiters around him, Philp guides readers through the city's vibrant history and engages in urgent conversations about gentrification, racial tensions, and class warfare. Part social history, part brash generational statement, part comeback story, A $500 House in Detroit "shines [in its depiction of] the 'radical neighborliness' of ordinary people in desperate circumstances" ( Publishers Weekly ). This is an unforgettable, intimate account of the tentative revival of an American city and a glimpse at a new way forward for generations to come. A young writer's sincere search (with his dog) for an authentic life—buying a ruined house in Detroit for $500, fixing it up nail by nail, and, in the process, participating in the grassroots rebirth of the city itself. Detroit today is the Bushwick of 2015, the Williamsburg of the 2000s, Lower East Side of the 1980s, the Berkley of the 1960s, The Greenwich Village in the 50s. The greatest sea change in American culture since the 1960s is happening in Detroit, and it contains the seed of something brand new and revolutionary for urban areas across the United States and Western Europe. As a resident, millennial, and participant, Drew Philp provides a unique vantage point from which to document this tidal shift. In 2010, at the age of twenty-three, Philp moved to Detroit and bought a house for an astonishing $500. Now he tells the story of how he emerged from a naïve college student to a resident and homeowner, fighting to protect, grow, and add to the city... A Young Writer's Sincere Search (with His Dog) For An Authentic Life--buying A Ruined House In Detroit For $500, Fixing It Up Nail By Nail, And, In The Process, Participating In The Grassroots Rebirth Of The City Itself.--provided By Publisher. Prologue: Best Bid -- Raw Material -- Clapboard Siding -- Someone Else's Trash -- Windows And Doors And Airplanes -- A Fence Between Me And The World -- Load-bearing Walls -- The Furnace -- A Chimney To The Sky -- A Knock On The Door -- Progress Gallops -- The Years Roll By -- Someone Else's Home. Drew Philp. Prologue: best bid -- Raw material -- Clapboard siding -- Someone else's trash -- Windows and doors and airplanes -- A fence between me and the world -- Load-bearing walls -- The furnace -- A chimney to the sky -- A knock on the door -- Progress gallops -- The years roll by -- Someone else's home.;"A young writer's sincere search (with his dog) for an authentic life--buying a ruined house in Detroit for $500, fixing it up nail by nail, and, in the process, participating in the grassroots rebirth of the city itself."--Provided by publisher. Prologue: best bid Raw material Clapboard siding Someone else's trash Windows and doors and airplanes A fence between me and the world Load bearing walls The furnace A knock on the door A chimney to the sky Progress gallops The years roll by Someone else's home.