What Is Creative Placemaking?

Public art on a reclaimed building: a creative placemaking project.

Creative placemaking is the practice of enhancing a neighborhood’s quality of life through arts, culture, and intentional community development. This practice can take many forms, like visual art installations, performance events, developing permanent brick-and-mortar spaces, and more. These creative approaches to addressing community challenges often include repurposing vacant properties.  What are the essential elements of…

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Bay City Allocates $3 Million to Home Repair and Strategic Code Enforcement

Cities across the United States are receiving an unprecedented infusion of resources from the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA SLFRF). Thanks to direct advocacy from Community Progress and our partners, the U.S. Treasury explicitly said communities can use ARPA SLFRF funds to address vacancy, as vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated…

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Submitting a Session Proposal for the 2022 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference? Read This First.

If you’re here, it probably means you’re thinking about submitting a session proposal to Community Progress’ flagship conference, Reclaiming Vacant Properties. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with some tips for writing a good session proposal that’ll grab our interest, and your attendees’ interest too!  Begin at the end: What will people walk away with?  First…

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New Research Publication Launched: Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession

WASHINGTON, D.C. –   Center for Community Progress announces the launch of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession, a research publication jointly produced with the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland. Community Progress is America’s leading nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to equitably address the full cycle of property revitalization.   More…

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New Paper by Alan Mallach – Making the Comeback: Reversing the Downward Trajectory of Black Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities

In city after city, the Black middle neighborhoods face the most significant challenges and have seen the sharpest declines across the country when compared to other middle neighborhoods. Black middle neighborhoods lead in the struggle to receive public help, programs, amenities, and more. In a new paper, Making the Comeback: Reversing The Downward Trajectory of…

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