Buying land/vacant lots in depressed town

[Adrien C.]

Is there value in buying land/vacant lots/inhabitable houses in cities that are currently depressed? 

I ask because land is a item that has a limited supply. As population increases, the availability of land decreases thus increasing its demand and value. Every state has large cities with areas that have fallen to the crapper. Is it realistic to think that at some point in ones life, these areas will experience a revival- either because jobs returned or because of forced use because we need places to park people as the population grows? 

I'm not talking about dropping big bucks on this junk now. In my area, I can buy SF lots in depressed areas for back taxes or a couple hundred bucks (maybe max $2000 if there's still a house on it) if still owned by someone. Taxes are running $300-500 annually on these vacant lots. So over a 20 year period, that's maybe $8000 in taxes (which is written off annually anyways). Is it reasonable to think that in 20 years or more, this lot is going to be worth a lot more should revival happen?