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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.

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Three communities selected for the Technical Assistance Scholarship Program
September 16, 2015
Three communities selected for the Technical Assistance Scholarship Program

Community Progress launched the competitive Technical Assistance Scholarship Program (TASP) in 2014, to help us find and support today’s pioneers in the work to reclaim and revitalize…

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National Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference comes to Baltimore in 2016!
September 10, 2015
National Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference comes to Baltimore in 2016!

We are pleased to announce that the seventh national Reclaiming Vacant Properties (RVP) Conference will come to Baltimore, Maryland, next year on September 28-30, 2016! The conference…

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Baltimore and Detroit get aggressive with nuisance properties
August 7, 2015
Baltimore and Detroit get aggressive with nuisance properties

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference.  With a staggering 84,000-plus 90,000 vacant properties…

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Inequality in America’s housing: 5 findings from the State of the Nation’s Housing Report
July 27, 2015
Inequality in America’s housing: 5 findings from the State of the Nation’s Housing Report

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University recently released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing report. The report takes a sweeping look at housing trends in…

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Can Detroit’s vacant factories become community assets?
July 22, 2015
Can Detroit’s vacant factories become community assets?

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Heading east along I-94 from Detroit’s resurgent Midtown area, two massive…

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How the zombie house crisis mutated and what cities are doing about it
July 10, 2015
How the zombie house crisis mutated and what cities are doing about it

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Are there more zombies in our city than ever before, or…

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Dollars and sense: The search for sustainable land bank funding
July 7, 2015
Dollars and sense: The search for sustainable land bank funding

Frank Alexander, in his newly released second edition of Land Banks and Land Banking, talks about well-run land banks as nimble, flexible tools. No two land banks are exactly the same, as…

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The state of land banks in 2015: An interview with Frank Alexander
June 30, 2015
The state of land banks in 2015: An interview with Frank Alexander

The second edition of Land Banks and Land Banking, the ground-breaking book by Frank S. Alexander, was released earlier this month. It builds on the legacy of the…

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Supreme Court’s fair housing ruling could boost true neighborhood revitalization
June 26, 2015
Supreme Court’s fair housing ruling could boost true neighborhood revitalization

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. In what’s being widely hailed as a gigantic victory for civil…

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A 341-page blight-fighting plan requires a lot of teamwork
June 23, 2015
A 341-page blight-fighting plan requires a lot of teamwork

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Three hundred and forty-one pages and 235.5 megabytes. That’s the length…

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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.

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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 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.  

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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.

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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.

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What Can Neighbors Do about Vacant Buildings and Lots?

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

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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