Check out some of things happening in Detroit in 2024:https://michiganchronicle.com/2024/01/03/major-developments-that-will-define-detroit-in-2024/Your first question shouldn't be WHERE to invest (that is #2 question), but HOW you will invest!

Development is a fun and frustrating venture, but Real Estate is still a good place to find a win.  

Land Ed is one phase of ground-up development.

Quote from @Bear Geiger: At Little Bear CreekProperties, we specialize in developing large tracts of land into individuallots for home builders in the Raleigh, NC area.

Essentially, I own 1% of a piece of land there that RAD plans on developing over the next few years.

This was found off market, we have developed a process to find off market deals.

I think there needs to be a change in leadership and a pro-development or up-zoning attitude.

Right now, land (unless in a hot market) takes a special type of buyer/developer to turn it into money, so you're better off finding the thing the people with the money want. land tends to sit a long time...

You may also want to check the Columbus OH market - great macroeconomics with lots of job and population growth along with major companies developing here that drive strong rental demand. 

So they started doing the loans that everyone else turned down, ultra high risk development deals, second mortgages, land loans at ridiculously high LTV, loans where the borrower has none of his own capital invested, 85% of AFTER stabilized value loans.