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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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Today’s land bank boom could lead to the extinction of land banks
June 19, 2015
Today’s land bank boom could lead to the extinction of land banks

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Frank Alexander wasn’t expecting his book, Land Banks and Land Banking, to…

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How Detroit Taught Itself to Demolish Vacant Houses Safely
June 12, 2015
How Detroit Taught Itself to Demolish Vacant Houses Safely

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. “It kind of used to be like the Wild West a…

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On East Side of Detroit, managing vacant land takes collaboration
June 4, 2015
On East Side of Detroit, managing vacant land takes collaboration

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. The verdure of spring is on full…

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Why Cities Need to Get Smarter About Property Taxes
June 4, 2015
Why Cities Need to Get Smarter About Property Taxes

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. With property taxes accounting for up to 75 percent…

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Climate Change: It Does Change Everything
June 1, 2015
Climate Change: It Does Change Everything

Tarik Abdelazim serves as the Associate Director of National Technical Assistance for Community Progress. From 2010 to 2014, I served as Director of Planning, Housing and Community…

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#RVP2015: Hearing your voices at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
May 28, 2015
#RVP2015: Hearing your voices at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

At the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference held last week in Detroit, more than 1,100 attendees engaged in meaningful conversations about causes and solutions for vacancy and abandonment. But…

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Tax Day: A look at tax lien sales in Cuyahoga County
April 15, 2015
Tax Day: A look at tax lien sales in Cuyahoga County

It’s that time of year again. The time for digging out your W2’s and crossing your fingers for a big refund. That’s right — we’re talking about Tax…

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Immigration in the Motor City: Explore at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
April 10, 2015
Immigration in the Motor City: Explore at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

Post-industrial cities throughout the Rust Belt have experienced significant population loss over the last fifty years, leading to unprecedented numbers of vacant and abandoned properties. Immigrants can breathe new life…

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Spring cleaning: Vacant lot maintenance through community engagement in Flint
March 24, 2015
Spring cleaning: Vacant lot maintenance through community engagement in Flint

Spring is here at last, and for many Legacy City blight fighters, that means one thing – lot mowing and maintenance season. Maintenance, which includes mowing, waste…

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What does it take to eliminate blight? New framework offers a model
March 19, 2015
What does it take to eliminate blight? New framework offers a model

  The City of Flint Planning Commission recently adopted Beyond Blight: City of Flint Blight Elimination Framework. With a five-year implementation timeline, the Framework uses an in-depth, data-driven approach that…

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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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