articles - Shrubs, weeds and raccoons have reclaimed (the) empty neighbourhoods

From The Economist's article on Detroit's doldrums:

Detroit’s population has fallen by 60% since 1950. ... Shrubs, weeds and raccoons have reclaimed empty neighbourhoods.

Would it be acceptable to put the definite article before the "empty neighborhoods"? Both the reader and the writer are aware where exactly these neighborhoods are, from the preceding text. Therefore the noun should have definite reference; hence,

Detroit’s population has fallen by 60% since 1950. ... Shrubs, weeds and raccoons have reclaimed the empty neighbourhoods.

If the first quote is more appropriate, why? How would adding THE shift the meaning?

Answer

There is a subtle difference between the two. In the original sentence, saying "reclaimed empty neighborhoods" means that some amount of empty neighborhoods has been reclaimed. It doesn't mean that all of them have.

However when you add the to the sentence, you're now referring to the set of all the empty neighborhoods in Detroit. This changes the meaning a bit. It's likely that not all of the neighborhoods have been overtaken by wildlife, hence the author's decision to omit the.