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Thank you for all you did in 2017 to support communities experiencing property vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration. We reached 1,000s of people through our work, and are pleased to share highlights with you from the past year: Helping communities innovate This year, three communities were selected as TASP scholarship recipients…
Read More »By: Peter Hoffman, Rebecca McQuillen, and Kayla Hogan For thirty years, Legal Aid of Western Missouri’s Economic Development Unit has represented grassroots community groups in Kansas City, Missouri’s urban core. In that time, they’ve worked with long-time residents and stakeholders to rehabilitate hundreds of vacant and abandoned properties into safe…
Read More »What can dinosaurs teach us about vacant land? Probably not very much. Dinosaurs are long extinct. Even plastic dino-toys – though ironic – have very little to offer us relative to vacancy or community health. I am surprised one would really even ponder this question. But do you know who…
Read More »Dear Community Progress friends, It is with great pleasure that I share with you that Akilah Watkins-Butler will be joining the Center for Community Progress as its new President and CEO in early July 2017. Akilah comes to the organization with more than 20 years of experience working to develop…
Read More »Community Progress Friends: I write today to share the bittersweet news that I will be leaving Community Progress in the summer of 2017 to relocate abroad with my family, due to a unique fellowship opportunity for my husband. Today, the Board of Directors announced these plans and opened the search…
Read More »Dear Friends of Community Progress, It is with mixed emotions that I write, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to share with you the decision of our President and CEO, Tamar Shapiro, to leave the Center for Community Progress in the summer of 2017. Due to a recent fellowship…
Read More »Through this year’s #LoveThatLot campaign, hundreds of people held in-person celebrations and shared photos of revitalization projects across the country. You shared your love for vacant lots transformed into farms, gas stations transformed into buildings with small businesses, and demolition sites turned into children’s learning gardens. For example, the Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County “heart-bombed”…
Read More »Raymond L. Pianka, judge of Cleveland’s Housing Court, died suddenly at the age of 65 early Sunday morning, January 22. As the city’s housing court judge for over two decades, Ray became something close to a legend among people engaged in fighting neighborhood decline and abandoned properties, not just in…
Read More »Update: Curious about the 2018 #LoveThatLot campaign? Learn how to get involved! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Why not celebrate it by sending Valentine love to your favorite revitalization projects and community champions? #LoveThatLot is back in its third annual campaign and we’re excited for you to share…
Read More »This is Part II of our series on heirs’ property. See Part I, “Preventing ‘tangled titles’ and subsequent blight in Philadelphia” here. What happens to a property after its owner has passed on? In many cases, if the owner doesn’t leave a will, the answer may be unclear, leaving the property with…
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