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Natalie Pruett: New Community Progress hire lends unique viewpoint as Flint native

We are pleased to welcome our newest staff member, Natalie Pruett, Program Officer of Michigan Initiatives, to the Community Progress team. To introduce her, we asked her a few questions about her work and her perspective as a native Flintonian. Here are her thoughts: How did you first get interested…

Building a movement: Michigan Land Bank Leadership Summit

“You’re going to be the vanguard for what will become a movement across the nation.” That was the call to action George McCarthy issued during a keynote address to the nearly 100 attendees at the Michigan Land Bank Leadership Summit (MLBLS), who represented over 30 counties throughout the State of…

10 new land banks authorized in New York!

(Learn more about what New York”s land banks are up to in the new report, “New York State Land Banks: Combating Blight and Vacancy in New York Communities.”) The number of land banks in New York is now set to double in the coming years. The New York State Legislature…

It looks different around here: Our new brand, and what it means

It’s looking a little different around here today. And it feels a little different, too. Today marks the public culmination of our strategic planning and rebranding process. Over the past year, we’ve done some soul-searching. The peak of the foreclosure crisis has passed, but its impacts continue to hurt neighborhoods…

Finding common ground in the fight against blight

Originally posted on The Catalyst: Ideas and Insights from Living Cities As a part of the Project on Municipal Innovation (PMI) – A network of Mayoral chiefs of staff and policy leaders from 35 of the country’s largest and most creative U.S. cities that Living Cities convenes biannually with the Ash Center…

New release! Guide to redeveloping vacant commercial properties

There’s a new resource available for communities tackling a challenging subset of blighted properties: commercial vacant properties. Redeveloping Commercial Vacant Properties in Legacy Cities: A Guidebook for Linking Property Reuse and Economic Growth is available to download for free. Greater Ohio Policy Center developed the free guidebook – the first…

Eight cities selected for the 2014 Community Progress Leadership Institute

Following a competitive application process, we’re excited to introduce the eight cities selected to join the 2014 Community Progress Leadership Institute (CPLI)! CPLI is our one-of-a-kind training program focused on equipping leaders with the skills they need to transform large inventories of blighted and vacant properties into community assets. (Curious? More info about CPLI.) Delegations of…

At the heart of it all

We can point to the negative impact of vacant properties on health, crime, property values, and other areas. We can study vacancy numbers and property tax revenues, strained public budgets, and the impacts of demolition and preservation. But when we’re caught up in the day-to-day, it can be easy to…

Our new Technical Assistance Scholarship Program RFA (applications due 3/24!)

For years, through our technical assistance services, we’ve had the privilege of working with communities around the country to reclaim their neighborhoods from blight, vacancy, and abandonment. Today, we’re excited to introduce a new direction for that work, designed to bring significant TA within reach of the places that need…

How the garden grows: A Q&A with Mark Covington

In our recent report, Placemaking in Legacy Cities: Opportunities and Good Practices, we share the story of Mark Covington, who, through his passion and hard work, was able to create the vibrant Georgia Street Community Collective on formerly vacant lots in Detroit. His story of how he was able to turn his…

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How to Convince Your Boss to Send You to the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

So you want to attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP). It sounds awesome, right? Three days of networking, learning relevant skills, and seeing real-life examples of neighborhood revitalization up close. But your boss needs some convincing. After all, you’ll have to be away from your day job and spend…

Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

How to write a session proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference that will get noticed.

Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress

For Kat Guillaume-Delemar, community revitalization is a deeply personal journey.

A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins

Dear friends and supporters of the Center for Community Progress, With great sadness and great gratitude, I announce that I will be departing from the Center for Community Progress at the end of 2022, to assume the role of President and CEO of Independent Sector. Over these last five years…

Lessons from 2022 VAD Academy

On June 15, more than 900 people joined us for the 2022 VAD Academy—a day-long virtual bootcamp for professionals and community partners whose work and communities are impacted by vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) property challenges. Throughout the day, experts from Community Progress led trainings on the causes of systemic…

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…

#LoveThatLot 2022: Show Your Favorite Formerly Vacant Lots Some Love

February is a special month at the Center for Community Progress. And that’s because it’s time for our annual Valentine’s Day celebration, #LoveThatLot, where you share with us your favorite revitalization projects and community champions, and show them some love too! Here’s how to participate: Share your favorite community revitalization…

Community Progress Weighs in on $350 Billion ARPA State and Local Recovery Fund

Center for Community Progress recently submitted a public comment letter in response to the Treasury Department’s Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) implementing the American Rescue Plan Act’s (“ARPA”) $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (“SLFRF”). The public comment period is open through Friday, July 16, 2021, and public comments…

Michigan Initiatives Quarterly Update: April – June 2021

This quarterly update from Community Progress’ Michigan Initiatives team highlights important revitalization news and resources from across the state. For specific inquiries or to share how your community is addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in Michigan, email Payton Heins, Director of Michigan Initiatives at [email protected].

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:…