100 Abandoned Houses

Kevin Bauman started taking pictures as a creative outlet then it evolved into a project documenting  Detroit's abandoned houses. 

Apparently there are a lot more then 100 something around the 12,000 mark. 

On his website he says "Often times, the neighborhoods were almost completely abandoned. In these neighborhoods I encountered concerned citizens, packs of wild dogs, 20 foot high piles of toilets, and houses with the facades torn off, filled with garbage."

I find this so strange, haunting and fascinating! I have so many questions, most of which start with WHY?