Community Progress regularly posts to this blog on a range of related topics to help communities across the country turn vacant spaces into vibrant places. Please check back regularly, and sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news directly in your inbox.
What Tyler v. Hennepin County Means for the Future of Property Tax Foreclosure Systems Across the Country
What Tyler v. Hennepin County Means for the Future of Property Tax Foreclosure Systems Across the Country

The SCOTUS decision opens up an opportunity for all states to redesign their property tax systems from beginning to end.

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The Problem with Calling Neighborhoods with Vacant Properties “Blighted” 
The Problem with Calling Neighborhoods with Vacant Properties “Blighted” 

Picture a neighborhood with numerous run-down homes, vacant lots, and boarded-up buildings, grounds or structure overgrown with vegetation. What word comes to mind to describe those conditions?  For many, that word is “blight.”  Blight is a shorthand term many people use to refer to properties they perceive as problematic in…

Read More...
How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect the Community
How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect the Community

Vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties—referred to by some as “blighted properties”—pose significant costs to public health, property values, local taxpayers, and more.

Read More...
Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement Could Be the Missing Piece in Fighting Vacant Properties
Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement Could Be the Missing Piece in Fighting Vacant Properties

A well-designed delinquent tax enforcement system can help communities return properties to productive use.

Read More...
The Community-led Effort to Address Vacant and Abandoned Properties in St. Louis County, Missouri
The Community-led Effort to Address Vacant and Abandoned Properties in St. Louis County, Missouri

St. Louis County needed a county-wide land bank to work with local communities and partners to help return vacant and abandoned properties to productive use. But breaking the cycle of vacancy requires a comprehensive approach.

Read More...
Detroit’s Tax Foreclosure Problems Need Long-Term Solutions
Detroit’s Tax Foreclosure Problems Need Long-Term Solutions

This is an excerpt of Chapter 3 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….

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Communities Across the US Are Addressing Property Deterioration and Vacancy With ARPA
Communities Across the US Are Addressing Property Deterioration and Vacancy With ARPA

States, Tribes, counties, and municipalities around the country have been hard at work determining how to use their allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act’s $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund – which we often clumsily abbreviate as the ARPA SLFRF.   Every unit of government should have already received at least the first…

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An Unprecedented Opportunity for COVID Relief and Equitable Neighborhood Transformation
An Unprecedented Opportunity for COVID Relief and Equitable Neighborhood Transformation

While the US is gaining ground in its fight against COVID-19, many communities are facing growing threats to neighborhood stability from its economic fallout. Unprecedented help is on the horizon for these communities, which could provide a momentous opportunity to spur equitable revitalization.   Where we are today  While the national unemployment rate has been dropping, [1] it…

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Preventing Post-COVID-19 Vacancy: 6 Interventions Local Governments Should be Thinking About Now
Preventing Post-COVID-19 Vacancy: 6 Interventions Local Governments Should be Thinking About Now

We are still many months away from fully understanding the public health and economic fallout from COVID-19. However, history can provide some foresight into how this crisis may impact community stability and what actions local governments could examine now to mitigate these impacts. Discriminatory and unjust policies have exposed individuals…

Read More...
Tax Lien Sales are Not a Vital Tool for Recovery; People Are
Tax Lien Sales are Not a Vital Tool for Recovery; People Are

We are in an unprecedented situation, and our concerns first and foremost should be about keeping people safe and, to the extent that it is the safest decision for that individual or family, in their homes. In response to the current COVID-19 crisis, it has been reassuring to see the…

Read More...
What Tyler v. Hennepin County Means for the Future of Property Tax Foreclosure Systems Across the Country

The SCOTUS decision opens up an opportunity for all states to redesign their property tax systems from beginning to end.

Read More...
The Problem with Calling Neighborhoods with Vacant Properties “Blighted” 

Picture a neighborhood with numerous run-down homes, vacant lots, and boarded-up buildings, grounds or structure overgrown with vegetation. What word comes to mind to describe those conditions?  For many, that word is “blight.”  Blight is a shorthand term many people use to refer to properties they perceive as problematic in…

Read More...
How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect the Community

Vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties—referred to by some as “blighted properties”—pose significant costs to public health, property values, local taxpayers, and more.

Read More...
Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement Could Be the Missing Piece in Fighting Vacant Properties

A well-designed delinquent tax enforcement system can help communities return properties to productive use.

Read More...
The Community-led Effort to Address Vacant and Abandoned Properties in St. Louis County, Missouri

St. Louis County needed a county-wide land bank to work with local communities and partners to help return vacant and abandoned properties to productive use. But breaking the cycle of vacancy requires a comprehensive approach.

Read More...
Detroit’s Tax Foreclosure Problems Need Long-Term Solutions

This is an excerpt of Chapter 3 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 More...
Communities Across the US Are Addressing Property Deterioration and Vacancy With ARPA

States, Tribes, counties, and municipalities around the country have been hard at work determining how to use their allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act’s $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund – which we often clumsily abbreviate as the ARPA SLFRF.   Every unit of government should have already received at least the first…

Read More...
An Unprecedented Opportunity for COVID Relief and Equitable Neighborhood Transformation

While the US is gaining ground in its fight against COVID-19, many communities are facing growing threats to neighborhood stability from its economic fallout. Unprecedented help is on the horizon for these communities, which could provide a momentous opportunity to spur equitable revitalization.   Where we are today  While the national unemployment rate has been dropping, [1] it…

Read More...
Preventing Post-COVID-19 Vacancy: 6 Interventions Local Governments Should be Thinking About Now

We are still many months away from fully understanding the public health and economic fallout from COVID-19. However, history can provide some foresight into how this crisis may impact community stability and what actions local governments could examine now to mitigate these impacts. Discriminatory and unjust policies have exposed individuals…

Read More...
Tax Lien Sales are Not a Vital Tool for Recovery; People Are

We are in an unprecedented situation, and our concerns first and foremost should be about keeping people safe and, to the extent that it is the safest decision for that individual or family, in their homes. In response to the current COVID-19 crisis, it has been reassuring to see the…

Read More...