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Land Banks

For neighborhoods burdened by systemic disinvestment; vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties often become symbols of neglect. They pose social, economic, health, and environmental hazards to communities and residents. Addressing these properties requires intervention at multiple points and systems—and one powerful tool many communities use to address vacancy and promote equitable…

Celebrating Legislative Wins to Combat Vacancy in Missouri and Alabama

Effective legislation is a vital piece of equipping state and local governments to effectively address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties (VAD). Through our Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program, over the last three years Community Progress has been honored to support local efforts to craft and advance these pieces of legislation….

A Conversation with Crystal Loffler, President of the Office of Community Renewal

We sat down with Crystal Loffler, President of the Office of Community Renewal at New York State Homes & Community Renewal, to talk about unique and flexible funding opportunities available to land banks in New York State and what other entities can learn from her work. Can you share a…

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.

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…

New Scholarship Program Creates and Supports New Land Banks to Help with Equitable Revitalization

Community Progress’ New Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program Supports New Local and State Land Banking Efforts WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 23, 2021 — The Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) announces the launch of a new scholarship program offering free technical assistance to communities seeking to create and use land…

Land Bank and Land Trust Leaders Express Support for Proposed $5 Billion to Revitalize Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 4, 2021 — Today, the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) and Grounded Solutions Network (Grounded Solutions) expressed their support of new legislation that would invest $5 billion in flexible federal funding for distressed communities nationwide. The Restoring Communities Left Behind Act was introduced in the House of…

Community Development is Crucial in This Moment

Written by Dr. Akilah Watkins-Butler on April 6, 2020 The pandemic is highlighting the crucial necessity of community developers’ work. Here’s what the field will need to play its part in the recovery. One month ago, when I began the first draft of this article, the world was drastically different….

From the Great Recession to COVID-19: Land Banks are Critical to Long-Term Equitable Recovery

Today’s COVID-19 public health crisis is evolving. As governments and business work to anticipate the potential housing and economic crisis that could follow, there is renewed focus and interest around land banks, which gained traction after the Great Recession. Land banks are governmental entities that acquire, hold, and steward vacant,…

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…

Community Progress Announces Upcoming Webinars Focused on Preventing Post-COVID-19 Vacancy

Over the last 30-days we’ve watched the COVID-19 health crisis forever change the fabric of this country. The lives of millions of Americans have been impacted and the need for equity will grow exponentially. As communities are grappling with the immediate health, social, and economic impacts of this unprecedented pandemic,…

Community Development Is Crucial in This Moment

The pandemic is highlighting the crucial necessity of community developers’ work. Here’s what the field will need to play its part in the recovery. One month ago, when I began the first draft of this article, the world was drastically different. Well before we became part of this new reality,…

‘Inside Out’ project shines light on Edison neighborhood and residents

Information provided by Kelly Clarke, Executive Director, Kalamazoo County Land Bank. The ‘Inside Out’ project (Credit: Kalamazoo County Land Bank) What is Inside Out, and how did it come to Kalamazoo? Inside Out is a global participatory art project organized by JR, a winner of the 2011 Ted Prize at…

Westmoreland County’s redevelopment authority and land bank tackle affordability and accessibility

Westmoreland County, located southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has an active redevelopment authority and a land bank. It also has a large, and growing, aging population and a housing affordability problem. A new grant award will make it possible for the redevelopment authority and land bank to help with those…

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