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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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Small scale, big results: Asset-based micro-planning in Youngstown, Ohio
December 17, 2015
Small scale, big results: Asset-based micro-planning in Youngstown, Ohio

What if the next big thing in blight elimination is to think small? Staff at the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) think that just might be the…

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Vacant industrial spaces are reborn to support a new age of small-scale manufacturing
December 17, 2015
Vacant industrial spaces are reborn to support a new age of small-scale manufacturing

There’s a myth surrounding post-industrial economies, Dan Kinkead, acting executive director of Detroit Future City, shares in conversation about the rebirth of small-scale manufacturing in his hometown…

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President’s Corner: Fresh approaches to the “preventive medicine” of vacant property revitalization
December 17, 2015
President’s Corner: Fresh approaches to the “preventive medicine” of vacant property revitalization

At Community Progress, we seek to help communities that are dealing with entrenched, often large-scale vacancy and abandonment in their neighborhoods. This is critically important, but it…

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Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part II —Milwaukee
December 15, 2015
Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part II —Milwaukee

This is the second in a two-part series exploring how strong working partnerships between practitioners and attorneys can give rise to innovation in the work to reclaim…

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Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part I—Syracuse
December 15, 2015
Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part I—Syracuse

This is the first in a two-part series exploring how strong working partnerships between practitioners and attorneys can give rise to innovation in the work to reclaim…

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#LotsofThanks: Recognizing revitalization champions
December 8, 2015
#LotsofThanks: Recognizing revitalization champions

All across the country, dedicated leaders are working day and night to combat vacancy and transform their communities. From the scrappy grassroots organizers to the forward-thinking public servants…

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Two new resources to inform short- and long-term vacant land reuse
November 23, 2015
Two new resources to inform short- and long-term vacant land reuse

When it comes to vacant land reuse, perhaps no other city in the nation faces as great of a challenge and as much of an opportunity as…

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#LotsofThanks: Recognizing revitalization champions!
November 17, 2015
#LotsofThanks: Recognizing revitalization champions!

Last February, we decided to run a Valentine’s Day campaign we called #LoveThatLot, asking you to use the hashtag to share photos of formerly vacant lots that…

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New research finds investment in neighborhood stabilization pays off—and more is needed
October 9, 2015
New research finds investment in neighborhood stabilization pays off—and more is needed

“House prices have sufficiently recovered and foreclosure activities have sufficiently abated.” That was the faulty argument made this past July to support a U.S. Senate proposal that…

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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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How Communities Can Partner with Land Banks to Address Housing Insecurity

Three case studies of land banks working with community partners to address housing insecurity.

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Two Decades of Reclaiming Vacant Properties: A Conversation with Wells Fargo

We interview Sarah Bainton Kahn, Head of Housing Access and Affordability Philanthropy at Wells Fargo and Company, about what’s changed in community revitalization and what she hopes attendees take away from RVP 2026 in Pittsburgh.

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Ira Goldstein on Lessons in Redevelopment Without Displacement from Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Neighborhood: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked one of our speakers to preview his session at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

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Jack BeVier on Rethinking Vacant Property Strategy in an Era of Private Reinvestment: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked one of our speakers to preview his session at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

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Aaron Sukenik and Cate Irvin on Sustaining Storefront Activation in Downtown Pittsburgh: An RVP Speaker Spotlight

We asked our speakers to preview their walking tour at the 2026 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and what you’ll learn by attending.

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Get Ready for the ROAD to Housing Act: Steps to Take Before Accessing New Housing Funds

What the ROAD to Housing Act contains relating to community revitalization and vacant property reuse.

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What Pung v. Isabella Means for Communities Dealing with Vacant, Tax-Delinquent Property

What communities dealing with property vacancy, abandonment, and tax delinquency should expect following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pung.

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Proposed Housing Legislation in the 119th Congress: What Land Banks Need to Know

Guidance for land banks on emerging housing legislation moving through Congress.

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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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