Officials have informed that Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is working on a plan to reorganize the city, moving residents from some blighted areas and developing farms.

The city has lost thousands of residents as the auto industry has moved elsewhere in recent decades. The bursting of the housing bubble has only made the situation worse, leaving some neighborhoods looking like ghost towns.

He expects to have a plan prepared in a year to 18 months, Bing said in an editorial board meeting with the Detroit Free Press.

But work on some pieces could begin sooner.

It has been reported that the city plans a light rail line along Woodward Avenue, which Bing believes would spur development on one of Detroit's main spines. The mayor said he expects Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to announce soon that 40 acres at the state fairgrounds will be leased for an urban farm.

Bing disagrees with the urban farm at the fairgrounds, believing the area could be better used. But he said working farms in Detroit will be part of his plan.

He further added that he would also like to create more stable neighborhoods by moving residents from areas where the population is thinly scattered.

Bing said, "The biggest job I'm going to have in this whole process ... is trying to convince those citizens that they need to move and that we can help put them in a better situation." (With Inputs from Agencies)