And now a story of a a powerful data mapping app that could help solve Detroit’s urban blight problem.

The story starts with a Detroit renter who was unwittingly paying a landlord to live in a home that had been foreclosed on. She didn’t find out that she was about to lose the roof over head until the house was on the city’s auction block.

But through a network of housing activists empowered by the app, she found out about the impending sale, and was able to negotiate with Wayne County to purchase the house herself. 

Now, makers of the app are hoping that it can help renters in a similar situation buy their way into home ownership. You can read more here.

Click the media player above to hear Ariella Cohen, editor-in-chief of NextCity, in conversation with Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio.