Chicagoist: How do we keep from becoming Detroit?

Well there are some bloggers who will claim that Chatham is becoming like Detroit. Then against we should be looking at the city as a whole and not just this neighborhood or that neighborhood. Here is an interesting conclusion from Chicagoist:

The Freep notes some potential solutions that are likely to be included in the report. And here, we can take some comfort. Chicago is already trying many of the fixes they have identified: while we don’t have the same potential, urban farming is alive and well here after some help from the City Council; we have already converted a sprawling brownfield into the nation's largest solar farm, hinting at both re-use and energy solutions for the future; the City Council and County Board have put aggressive vacant property ordinances in place that should, if they survive legal challenges, help properties change hands before they become community blights; and the City is already buying up properties to help stabilize some neighborhoods. And that stuff is all great, but unfortunately, some close to the Detroit effort concede that they do not think the projects being bandied about will be enough. If it's not going to be enough in Detroit (where demolition permits outnumber building permits 10:1), will it do the trick here (where one in 10 buildings are vacant)? Probably not.

Should this be applied to the city as a whole? Should this only be implemented on a neighborhood level?