Blog

Home » Blog

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.

Filter by Date

Topics

From the Board Chair: Welcome to our new President and CEO
June 19, 2017
From the Board Chair: Welcome to our new President and CEO

Dear Community Progress friends, It is with great pleasure that I share with you that Akilah Watkins-Butler will be joining the Center for Community Progress as its…

Read More »
Five years in, New York’s land bank movement offers lessons for national field
May 23, 2017
Five years in, New York’s land bank movement offers lessons for national field

It was September 2013, and I was in a conference room somewhere in the City of Syracuse with about twenty other individuals from across New York State…

Read More »
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part III
April 18, 2017
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part III

One can learn a lot about tackling abandoned properties from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value. However successful it’s been, at getting abandoned properties back into use, though, there…

Read More »
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part II
April 12, 2017
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part II

In my first post on this theme, I wrote about the thinking behind Baltimore’s highly successful effort to get private developers and property owners to rehabilitate vacant properties…

Read More »
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part I
April 11, 2017
Learning from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value: Part I

In 2010, the City of Baltimore kicked off an ambitious effort to address its vacant property challenges, an effort it called Vacants to Value (V2V). After five…

Read More »
President’s Corner: Announcing next steps with gratitude for the past five years
March 7, 2017
President’s Corner: Announcing next steps with gratitude for the past five years

Community Progress Friends: I write today to share the bittersweet news that I will be leaving Community Progress in the summer of 2017 to relocate abroad with…

Read More »
From the Board Chair: Announcing a leadership transition at Community Progress
March 7, 2017
From the Board Chair: Announcing a leadership transition at Community Progress

Dear Friends of Community Progress, It is with mixed emotions that I write, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to share with you the decision of…

Read More »
You really #LoveThatLot! Highlights from the 2017 campaign
February 15, 2017
You really #LoveThatLot! Highlights from the 2017 campaign

Through this year’s #LoveThatLot campaign, hundreds of people held in-person celebrations and shared photos of revitalization projects across the country. You shared your love for vacant lots transformed into farms, gas stations…

Read More »
Remembering Ray Pianka
January 27, 2017
Remembering Ray Pianka

Raymond L. Pianka, judge of Cleveland’s Housing Court, died suddenly at the age of 65 early Sunday morning, January 22. As the city’s housing court judge for…

Read More »
#LoveThatLot: Show your love for revitalization projects!
January 24, 2017
#LoveThatLot: Show your love for revitalization projects!

Update: Curious about the 2018 #LoveThatLot campaign? Learn how to get involved! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Why not celebrate it by sending Valentine love…

Read More »
Driving Change: A Mid-Year Reflection from Community Progress

A letter from our CEO & President about our work in the first six months of 2024.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.  

Read More »
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.

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 »
What Can Neighbors Do about Vacant Buildings and Lots?

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

Read More »
What is Code Enforcement?

Code enforcement from A to Z: when it works, when it doesn’t, and how local governments can make code enforcement systems more fair for all.

Read 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.

Read More »
How to Prevent and Reduce Illegal Dumping

Cities spend millions each year cleaning up illegal dumping. What if they tried to make vacant lots less appealing to dumping in the first place?

Read More »
Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

How to write a session proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference that will get noticed.

Read More »