Tearing down a freeway doesn't necessarily lead to 'luxury condos and luxury retail/commercial spaces' when there's no demand for such property in the neighborh

Tearing down a freeway doesn't necessarily lead to 'luxury condos and luxury retail/commercial spaces' when there's no demand for such property in the neighborhood. There's vacant land at the edge of downtown Milwaukee from the teardown of a freeway spur almost 15 years ago. That said, in a rust belt city like Milwaukee or Syracuse, the real risk is full-scale abandonment of the city in the style of Detroit or Flint— which is best prevented by having a diverse array of people invested in, and fighting for the city. If that doesn't happen, it'll decay into a zone of concentrated poverty that major employers flee for the suburbs, trapping people in a worsening cycle of poverty because they can't get a job without a car and can't get a car without a job. And a car often costs the better part of $5,000 a year to maintain, and potentially much more if you can't scrape together that $5,000 upfront for something decent used and have to deal with scammy low-end car dealers. And, of course, some rich people and expensive property are a necessary part of a city's tax base if it's to pay for decent schools and transit and social services and libraries and all the services that enable social mobility.