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Equitable Revitalization

After the last bell rings, cities explore options for vacant school buildings

Urban school districts are seeing schools close due to population declines, the buildings’ age, and other factors. The trend is particularly pronounced in cities that have faced the decline of large industry and subsequent hard times. Elaborate, sometimes multi-structure facilities once cherished as neighborhood centers – built to provide thousands…

Do Urban Neighborhoods Need Homeowners?

Originally posted on the National Housing Institute’s Rooflines blog At a conference I attended last week, one of the speakers, a colleague whose judgment and knowledge I respect, offered his take on the future of urban single family neighborhoods. The lower income families who have the credit and can get…

Flint’s framework for the future

This article was originally published in the Summer 2014 issue of Breaking Ground, our quarterly newsletter. To receive Breaking Ground in your inbox, please join our email list. It might go without saying, but the City of Flint in 2014 is very different from the Flint of 1960. Decades of…

Breaking down deconstruction: What Detroit gained from dismantling instead of destroying

It might not be immediately obvious, but in the rubble and decay of vacant, dilapidated properties — those that are so far deteriorated, they’ve been slated for demolition — there is much value to be found. That’s where deconstruction comes into the picture. Deconstruction is the process of salvaging the…

Can Youngstown Make It On Its Own?

Originally posted on the National Housing Institute’s Rooflines blog Youngstown is a small city in the hills of northeast Ohio, once famous for steelmaking; and sadly, if famous for anything today, for economic distress and population loss. From a peak population of about 175, 000, it’s down today to maybe…

Is gentrification different in Legacy Cities?

Originally posted on Legacy Cities by American Assembly Most research on revitalizing neighborhoods views them as instances of “gentrification,” the movement of young, often single, professionals into low-income, heavily minority, neighborhoods near urban employment centers. The dominant view in the literature is that low-income and minority residents are pushed out by…

The March of the Millennial Generation to the Cities is Real

Originally posted on the National Housing Institute’s Rooflines blog This past fall, the Washington Post ran a series called “The March of the Millennials” about how this generation is changing Washington D.C. For those of you who have been out of the loop for the last few years, ‘millennials’ or the ‘millennial…

Manufacturing may be coming back, but it won’t bring jobs

I finally got to see Detropia last week, the acclaimed documentary filmed in Detroit that’s been making the rounds of the film festivals and the indie houses. As someone who’s pretty deeply involved with Detroit, I’d been looking forward to seeing it. It turns out that it’s not really about that city at all. What Detropia’s…

“A lot of tiny pieces lost”

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is part of the 2013 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference liveblog series. Check out all the in-depth content — even if you weren’t able to join us in Philadelphia from September 9-11, 2013, you’ll feel like you did! Zach Patten of Curbed Philly contributed to this story. The Reclaiming Vacant…

Detroit and four other Michigan cities to receive additional federal dollars for strategic demolition

In an exciting development, the U.S. Treasury Department announced last week that Michigan may use up to $100 Million—or 20%—of its Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) allocation for strategic demolition of vacant properties. Part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the HHF was created in 2010 to stabilize housing markets…

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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…

FHA Updates 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program to Increase Accessibility

Revisions to the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program aim to make it more accessible and effective and increase the number of 203(k) consultants.

Why Heirs’ Property is a Problem for Vacancy and Abandonment

To address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties, local governments must first identify what types of VAD properties exist in the community. Some properties are abandoned with no mortgage and near tax foreclosure. Some fall into disrepair during a long mortgage foreclosure process. In other cases, a property owner may…

What is the Neighborhood Revitalization and Land Banking Act?

The bipartisan bill is an important step in giving rural, urban, and suburban communities the tools to address “blighted” properties. The key focus of the bill is providing support to land banks, a tool many communities are adopting to support economic and neighborhood revitalization.

The Problem with Calling Neighborhoods with Vacant Properties “Blighted”

Blight is a shorthand term many people use to refer to properties they perceive as problematic in some way.

How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect Communities

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.

What Can Neighbors Do about Vacant Buildings and Lots?

When neighbors come together, they can be a powerful voice for community revitalization.

Answering Big Questions Following Tyler v. Hennepin County

Answering the most common and important questions we’ve heard about property tax foreclosure in the wake of Tyler v. Hennepin County.

Explaining the Cycle of Systemic Vacancy

Systemic vacancy is the community experience of widespread property vacancy caused by the combined actions of people, policies, and processes.

Lessons from 2023 VAD Academy: Systemic Racism is a Root Cause of Vacant Properties

The key lesson from this year’s VAD Academy: systemic racism is a root cause of vacant, abandoned, deteriorated properties.