For 50 years, Flint’s prosperity rose with the star of General Motors, but as GM began to falter during the economic downturn of the 1970s and 1980s, Flint began to experience massive job losses. So many workers left town that poverty and the growing stock of empty houses overwhelmed the city. Now Flint is using new tools, including Land Bank Authority, to take possession of abandoned properties, eliminate blight, and repackage and market its real estate to interested developers. Beautiful downtown buildings are being renovated. Flint’s trajectory is climbing.