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Land Banks

Bringing Michigan’s land bank leaders together in rural Marquette County

Land bank leaders gathered in Marquette, Michigan, last month, on June 13-14th, for the third annual Michigan Land Bank Leadership Summit. The event drew over 40 participants, representing over 20 land banks. This year, the Michigan Association of Land Banks also invited participants from counties interested in starting a land…

Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part I—Syracuse

This is the first in a two-part series exploring how strong working partnerships between practitioners and attorneys can give rise to innovation in the work to reclaim and revitalize blighted properties. After reading below, check out Part II —Milwaukee right here >> “Lawyers can paralyze you for sure. They’ll scare you to…

Dollars and sense: The search for sustainable land bank funding

Frank Alexander, in his newly released second edition of Land Banks and Land Banking, talks about well-run land banks as nimble, flexible tools. No two land banks are exactly the same, as each is adapted to its own particular local conditions. If there is one common challenge that binds together nearly all of the estimated 120 land banks nationwide,…

The state of land banks in 2015: An interview with Frank Alexander

The second edition of Land Banks and Land Banking, the ground-breaking book by Frank S. Alexander, was released earlier this month. It builds on the legacy of the 2011 first edition with fresh insights and resources for practitioners and policy-makers. With about 120 land banks and land banking programs now located around…

Today’s land bank boom could lead to the extinction of land banks

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Frank Alexander wasn’t expecting his book, Land Banks and Land Banking, to wind up so big. “In 2010, when we created the Center for Community Progress one of the reasons we did so, Dan Kildee…

Spring cleaning: Vacant lot maintenance through community engagement in Flint

Spring is here at last, and for many Legacy City blight fighters, that means one thing – lot mowing and maintenance season. Maintenance, which includes mowing, waste removal, and other activities to keep lots clean and green, can be costly and time consuming. In order to make sure lots are…

How the Cuyahoga Land Bank is helping refugees “Discover Home”

Land banks can work in concert with a whole host of private, public, and nonprofit partners, using those creative partnerships to help the communities they serve. An example of one such partnership is the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (Cuyahoga Land Bank)’s Discovering Home program–described in Take it to the…

Easy as A-B-C: The Chautauqua acquisition model

How should a land bank decide which properties to acquire? Researching our recent national land bank report confirmed it’s a major question that virtually all land banks grapple with. In Take it to the Bank: How Land Banks Are Strengthening America’s Neighborhoods, we found that “though the majority of land…

Omaha Habitat honors Community Progress with Nebraska leaders

There is much to celebrate in Omaha. Over the past year, the State of Nebraska passed a land bank statute, and a diverse group of businesses, nonprofits, community leaders, and elected officials in Omaha came together to champion the passage of the Omaha municipal land bank ordinance, creating the first…

What does a successful land bank look like?

What does a successful land bank look like? It’s one of the questions our new report, Take it to the Bank: How Land Banks Are Strengthening America’s Neighborhoods, explores. Based on our research, there are a number of common characteristics critical to successful land banking. The following is a breakdown of these…

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What is a Brownfield?

Brownfield properties, often referred to as “brownfields,” are properties where the presence or potential presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant makes redevelopment challenging and costly.

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 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.

What’s the Deal with Rural Land Banks? A Q&A with West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation Executive Director Taylor Bennett

Land banks can help rural communities deal with vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated properties.

New Study Shows Land Bank Ownership of Vacant Lots Can Reduce Violent Crime

A vacant lot owned and cared for by a land bank sees a greater decrease in crime compared to privately owned lots, finds 2023 study in Flint, MI.

2023 Year in Review: National Land Bank Network

Some highlights from National Land Bank Network and the land banking field in 2023.

State of Land Banking: 2023 Survey Highlights

Key takeaways, data, and charts from the 2023 State of Land Banking survey.

Helping Land Banks Advance Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In the Land Bank DEI Learning Cohort, eight land banks learned how to disrupt racial injustice to better serve their communities.

Challenges—and Opportunities—to Addressing Vacant Properties in Raton, New Mexico

A snapshot of Raton, New Mexico and how the city can tackle vacant and abandoned properties.