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Our blog unpacks complex approaches to community revitalization so you feel ready to return vacant properties to productive use. Sign up for our newsletter to get solutions in your inbox.

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COVID-19 Recovery: Alan Mallach, Smart Growth America, and More Share on the Future of Cities
September 22, 2020
COVID-19 Recovery: Alan Mallach, Smart Growth America, and More Share on the Future of Cities

COVID-19 is proving to be more than a crisis for America’s cities, towns, and counties. The unexpected synergy of a pandemic, elections, climate change and social unrest…

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New! Download Revitalization in Michigan: A Guide to Transforming VAD Properties through Code Enforcement
September 8, 2020
New! Download Revitalization in Michigan: A Guide to Transforming VAD Properties through Code Enforcement

Code enforcement that is used equitably, efficiently, and effectively is one of the most promising approaches to vacant, abandoned, and deteriorating properties at work in the United…

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Go “Back to School” With These Post-COVID-19 Trainings – Black Neighborhoods, Future of Cities, and More Community Development Help
September 3, 2020
Go “Back to School” With These Post-COVID-19 Trainings – Black Neighborhoods, Future of Cities, and More Community Development Help

We know this fall is won’t be “normal.” What we do know is that from back-to-school planning to preparing 2021 budgets, we’ll need real-time data and updates…

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FREE “Boot Camp” Helps Fighting Vacancy – Join Us for the 2020 VAD Academy!
September 3, 2020
FREE “Boot Camp” Helps Fighting Vacancy – Join Us for the 2020 VAD Academy!

Property revitalization has never been more critical need as cities across the country continue to battle vacancy, abandonment, and housing instability resulting from natural disasters and the COVID-19…

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Filling the Gaps: Helping Struggling Property Owners Connect to Rehab and Repair Resources
August 20, 2020
Filling the Gaps: Helping Struggling Property Owners Connect to Rehab and Repair Resources

Today, property owners – homeowners, landlords and businesses – feeling the active COVID-19 impacts are also bracing for a possible larger real estate market downturn and more…

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New Webinars Unlock the Black Middle Neighborhood Challenges and Opportunities
August 20, 2020
New Webinars Unlock the Black Middle Neighborhood Challenges and Opportunities

In the last twenty years, predominantly African-American ‘middle neighborhoods’ have endured the same challenges as other communities, but with different results. The historic injustices that were thought…

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Community Development is Crucial in This Moment
August 20, 2020
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…

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Community Progress Announces Juneteenth Closure
June 18, 2020
Community Progress Announces Juneteenth Closure

Dear Partners,  This Friday, June 19th, the Center for Community Progress will be closed in celebration of Juneteenth. As our staff and team enjoy the day as a…

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Filling the Gaps: Helping Struggling Property Owners Connect to Rehab and Repair Resources
June 16, 2020
Filling the Gaps: Helping Struggling Property Owners Connect to Rehab and Repair Resources

Today, property owners – homeowners, landlords and businesses – feeling the active COVID-19 impacts are also bracing for a possible larger real estate market downturn and more…

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Life Should Not be Determined by a Person’s Race [the Death of George Floyd]
June 3, 2020
Life Should Not be Determined by a Person’s Race [the Death of George Floyd]

We at the Center for Community Progress are enraged and grief-stricken at the loss of yet another Black life at the hands of police.   Since 1619, the…

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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.

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How Land Banks are Reusing Vacant Land to Build Climate Resilience

Examples of how land banks are transforming vacant land into climate resilience assets through flood mitigation, greening, and partnerships.

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Why You Should Attend the NLBN Summit—Even if You Don’t Work at a Land Bank

The NLBN Summit is your chance to better understand how land banks work and how they can support your goals around developing housing, reusing vacant land, and helping neighborhoods bounce back from economic decline.

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The Basics of Brownfield Redevelopment: Finding and Assessing Brownfields

Brownfield redevelopment reclaims the potential of underutilized properties, improves a neighborhood’s health and wellbeing, and can spark community revitalization.

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How Opportunity Zones 2.0 Can Leverage Existing Vacant Property Inventories

Ideas for Opportunity Zones 2.0 to leverage existing vacant properties in distressed communities, with land bank support.

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What is a Land Bank?

A land bank is a public entity with unique powers to put vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties back to productive use according to community goals.

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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.

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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.

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How to Buy Property From a Land Bank

Find a land bank near you and make sure you understand what makes them different from traditional real estate sellers.

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To Prevent Illegal Dumping, You Have to Know the Scale of the Problem

How to conduct a neighborhood survey to assess the scale of illegal dumping and prioritize city resources for cleanup and prevention.

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