Blog

Community Revitalization

From Harm to Home: Replicating Detroit’s Make it Home Program

The City of Detroit’s innovative Make it Home program harnesses the power of the traditionally harmful property tax foreclosure process and uses it to increase affordable homeownership, improve housing conditions, and stabilize neighborhoods.

What does equitable code enforcement look like? How Louisville is taking steps to use its code enforcement process to advance racial equity

With technical assistance support from Community Progress, Louisville is reforming their housing and building code enforcement with equity in mind.

Resident Engagement in Vacant Lot Greening: Empowering Communities for Neighborhood Revitalization

This is an excerpt of Chapter 11 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Building Resilience: Leveraging Innovative Partnerships and Low Cost Capital to Meet Affordable Single-Family Housing Needs

This is an excerpt of Chapter 10 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Emerging Partners for a Resilient and Equitable Recovery

This is an excerpt of Chapter 9 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Read President/CEO Dr. Akilah Watkins’ US House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee Affordable Housing Testimony

On July 13, Community Progress CEO and President Dr. Akilah Watkins spoke before the The US House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee in a hearing called “Nowhere to Live: Profits, Disinvestment, and The American Housing Crisis.” The hearing discussed factors driving up housing costs, the effects of these costs on low-…

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…

Developing and Implementing Property Remediation Strategies in Urban and Rural Communities in the Lehigh Valley: A Case Study of Bethlehem and Northampton County, Pennsylvania

This is an excerpt of Chapter 6 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web. In…

Does a Nonprofit “First Look” Program Promote Neighborhood Stabilization? Examining Outcomes for REO Sales in Florida

This is an excerpt of Chapter 5 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

The Battle of the Belts: Vacancy in the Sun Belt and Rust Belt Since the Great Recession

This is an excerpt of Chapter 2 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It has been lightly edited and condensed for the web….

Ira Goldstein on Lessons in Redevelopment Without Displacement from Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Neighborhood: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked one of our speakers to preview his session at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

Jack BeVier on Rethinking Vacant Property Strategy in an Era of Private Reinvestment: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked one of our speakers to preview his session at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

Aaron Sukenik and Cate Irvin on Sustaining Storefront Activation in Downtown Pittsburgh: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked our speakers to preview their walking tour at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

Get Ready for the ROAD to Housing Act: Steps to Take Before Accessing New Housing Funds

What the ROAD to Housing Act contains relating to community revitalization and vacant property reuse.

How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect Communities

Learn how vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties—referred to by some as “blighted properties”—pose significant costs to public health, property values, and local taxpayers.

How Land Banks and Under-Resourced Developers Can Collaborate to Build Affordable Housing

Ways that land banks and under-resourced developers can collaborate to build green, affordable infill housing.

Why Home Repair Programs Are Essential for Preventing Property Vacancy and Abandonment

Home repair is a core strategy to stop properties from becoming vacant in the first place.

How to Explain Vacant Property Work: A Plain Language Guide

Talking about community revitalization is hard. Here’s some ways to explain vacancy when people don’t understand your work.

What to Know About the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act in 2025

NHIA would create a new federal tax credit to support construction or rehabilitation of single-family homes in distressed communities.

RVP 2024: Philanthropy and Community Revitalization

With the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP) kicking off in St. Louis this week, Community Progress took a moment to ask three of our top sponsors—JPMorganChase, Missouri Foundation for Health, and Wells Fargo Foundation—what they were looking forward to at the event, and how philanthropy plays a critical role…