George Galster, professor of urban affairs, is quoted in this Bloomberg News article about abandoned homes in Detroit , and the vandalism they attract. He said Detroit has as many as 12,000 vacant homes, among the highest total for large U.S. cities. Referring to these structures as "a cancer" in neighborhoods, he notes that they attract vagrants and have the potential of becoming drug houses or targets for arson. The glut of houses results from the metropolitan area's unwillingness to control suburban growth, which discourages redevelopment of downtown areas, Galster points out.