Blog

Home » Blog

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.

Filter by Date

Topics

Celebrating placemaking: The role of arts and culture in community development
December 14, 2016
Celebrating placemaking: The role of arts and culture in community development

Placemaking, wielded skillfully, is a powerful tool to preserve, respect, lift up, and celebrate the culture of a community in ways that go far beyond aesthetics. Giving…

Read More »
Why do some cities have so many vacant properties?
December 1, 2016
Why do some cities have so many vacant properties?

  Tarik Abdelazim, our associate director for National Technical Assistance, wrote this blog post (cross-posted from Breathing Lights) to begin to unpack the causes of vacancy and…

Read More »
Land Banks & Community Land Trusts: Not Synonyms or Antonyms. Complements
November 22, 2016
Land Banks & Community Land Trusts: Not Synonyms or Antonyms. Complements

By: Emily Thaden, Kim Graziani, Annie Stup This blog post also appeared on the Shelterforce blog, rooflines.org. “For land banks to get into the affordable housing business,…

Read More »
Where the brave dare not go
November 2, 2016
Where the brave dare not go

Few topics will kill a conversation faster than inviting a discussion of property taxes. At the same time, however, the efficiency and effectiveness of our local governments…

Read More »
Bringing Michigan’s land bank leaders together in rural Marquette County
July 18, 2016
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,…

Read More »
Heirs’ Property, Part II: Providing legal aid in rural South Carolina to build family wealth and prevent vacancy
June 30, 2016
Heirs’ Property, Part II: Providing legal aid in rural South Carolina to build family wealth and prevent vacancy

This is Part II of our series on heirs’ property. See Part I, “Preventing ‘tangled titles’ and subsequent blight in Philadelphia” here. What happens to a property after its…

Read More »
Heirs’ Property, Part I: Preventing “tangled titles” and subsequent blight in Philadelphia
June 28, 2016
Heirs’ Property, Part I: Preventing “tangled titles” and subsequent blight in Philadelphia

This is Part I of our series on heirs’ property. See Part II, “Providing legal aid in rural South Carolina to build family wealth and prevent vacancy” here….

Read More »
New report analyzes New Orleans’ rising rental costs
June 22, 2016
New report analyzes New Orleans’ rising rental costs

New Orleans has undergone many transformations in the 10+ years since Katrina. Today, with over half of New Orleans’ residents living in rental housing, and rents rising sharply…

Read More »
Communities aim to stabilize neighborhoods through effective rental registration and certification programs
June 21, 2016
Communities aim to stabilize neighborhoods through effective rental registration and certification programs

  Code enforcement is an important tool for addressing blighted property conditions and stabilizing neighborhoods. When we talk about that, however, we often focus on vacant, blighted…

Read More »
Vacant Home Tour changes the conversation around vacancy in Wilkinsburg
May 23, 2016
Vacant Home Tour changes the conversation around vacancy in Wilkinsburg

A creative new project in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, is all about changing the conversation around vacancy and abandonment in the community. In its second year, the Vacant Home…

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

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 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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
Five Innovative Approaches from Land Banks Across the Country

Five examples of creative approaches land banks have taken to addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties.

Read More »
Meet the 2024-25 Cohort of Community Revitalization Fellows

Grassroots community leaders from Lafayette, Memphis, and Rochester share their stories and motivations for community revitalization.

Read More »
Our Commitment to Code Enforcement: 2024 Recap

In 2024, Community Progress doubled down on its commitment to helping local governments use code enforcement to address VAD properties.

Read More »