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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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Flint co-op will put good food, ownership in hands of residents
July 13, 2017
Flint co-op will put good food, ownership in hands of residents

  This article is the first in a five-story series on resident-led revitalization efforts in Flint, Michigan, developed thanks to the support of the Community Foundation of…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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How Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Affect Communities

Learn how vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties—referred to by some as “blighted properties”—pose significant costs to public health, property values, and local taxpayers.

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How Land Banks and Under-Resourced Developers Can Collaborate to Build Affordable Housing

Ways that land banks and under-resourced developers can collaborate to build green, affordable infill housing.

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What are Proactive Rental Inspection Programs?: Keeping Homes Occupied and Communities Healthy

Proactive rental inspection programs shift code enforcement from reactive to strategic, identifying health hazards like lead paint, mold, and broken heating before they harm tenants or push properties toward vacancy. Learn how local governments design effective programs, with examples from cities across the country.

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How Land Banks Can Address Brownfields: Case Studies

Land banks are well-positioned to engage in brownfield redevelopment. As public entities with unique powers to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, land banks can help communities return these properties to productive use in alignment with community goals. A growing number of communities across the country are seeing land banks…

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Why Home Repair Programs Are Essential for Preventing Property Vacancy and Abandonment

Home repair is a core strategy to stop properties from becoming vacant in the first place.

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How Better Data Helps Communities Address Vacancy

What data sources you should be looking at if you’re interested in understanding, tracking, and solving property vacancy in your community.

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Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

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

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How a New Jersey Land Bank is Converting Vacant Properties into Homes for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Holders

Learn how Newark, New Jersey is leveraging an underutilized HCV provision to make homeownership a reality for low-income residents.

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How Philanthropy Powers Land Bank Success 

Examples of how philanthropic partnerships have helped land banks launch new programs to revitalize communities.

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Five Creative Placemaking Projects Reimagining Live-Work Spaces

Examples of live-work unit projects that are transforming their neighborhoods through creative placemaking.

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