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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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South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: “We’re part of a movement”
March 19, 2015
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: “We’re part of a movement”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, hit the nail on the head when he shared with us his thoughts on the value of the Reclaiming Vacant…

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Building a movement at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
March 2, 2015
Building a movement at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

In just a few months, Detroit will play host to community development leaders from across the country for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP), charting the course…

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The Next Frontier in Neighborhood Stabilization – The ReClaim Project
March 2, 2015
The Next Frontier in Neighborhood Stabilization – The ReClaim Project

By Craig Nickerson, National Community Stabilization Trust and Rebecca Regan, Housing Partnership Network In numerous communities today, REO inventories are declining and overall foreclosure rates are at five-year…

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After the last bell rings, cities explore options for vacant school buildings
March 2, 2015
After the last bell rings, cities explore options for vacant school buildings

Urban school districts are seeing schools close due to population declines, the buildings’ age, and other factors. The trend is particularly pronounced in cities that have faced…

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#LoveThatLot: Your Valentines for formerly vacant lots
February 13, 2015
#LoveThatLot: Your Valentines for formerly vacant lots

Parcel by parcel, on blocks across the country, transformations are underway: local champions are turning vacant, abandoned lots into local gems. These projects are changing neighborhoods and touching lives but, too…

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Seven Cities Selected for Community Progress Leadership Institute
February 10, 2015
Seven Cities Selected for Community Progress Leadership Institute

Delegations from seven cities across three states have been selected to attend the 2015 Community Progress Leadership Institute (CPLI), a training program focused on equipping leaders with…

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Send your favorite revitalized lot some Valentine’s love with #LoveThatLot
February 5, 2015
Send your favorite revitalized lot some Valentine’s love with #LoveThatLot

Around the country, vacant lots and abandoned properties are being transformed into everything from new housing to urban orchards to pop-up beer gardens to go-kart race tracks….

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How to Explain Vacant Property Work: A Plain Language Guide

Talking about community revitalization is hard. Here’s some ways to explain vacancy when people don’t understand your work.

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How Land Banks are Reusing Vacant Land to Build Climate Resilience

Examples of how land banks are transforming vacant land into climate resilience assets through flood mitigation, greening, and partnerships.

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Why You Should Attend the NLBN Summit—Even if You Don’t Work at a Land Bank

The NLBN Summit is your chance to better understand how land banks work and how they can support your goals around developing housing, reusing vacant land, and helping neighborhoods bounce back from economic decline.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 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.

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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.

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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.

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