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

2023 Year in Review: National Land Bank Network
December 12, 2023
2023 Year in Review: National Land Bank Network

Some highlights from National Land Bank Network and the land banking field in 2023.

Read More »
State of Land Banking: 2023 Survey Highlights 
December 12, 2023
State of Land Banking: 2023 Survey Highlights 

Key takeaways, data, and charts from the 2023 State of Land Banking survey.

Read More »
Answering Big Questions Following Tyler v. Hennepin County
November 28, 2023
Answering Big Questions Following Tyler v. Hennepin County

Answering the most common and important questions we’ve heard about property tax foreclosure in the wake of Tyler v. Hennepin County.

Read More »
ARPA SLFRF Update: Interim Final Rule Expands Eligible Uses
October 12, 2023
ARPA SLFRF Update: Interim Final Rule Expands Eligible Uses

The ARPA SLFRF expanded eligible uses allow funds to be deployed to help address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in new ways.

Read More »
What Is a Tax Lien Sale and Why Is It a Bad Way of Dealing with Vacant Properties?
October 9, 2023
What Is a Tax Lien Sale and Why Is It a Bad Way of Dealing with Vacant Properties?

Tax lien sales are one way that cities and counties try to recoup some of the public dollars they’ve spent maintaining properties abandoned by private owners. But tax lien sales rarely fix the problem, nor lead to a vacant property being returned to productive use. 

Read More »
Helping Land Banks Advance Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
September 27, 2023
Helping Land Banks Advance Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In the Land Bank DEI Learning Cohort, eight land banks learned how to disrupt racial injustice to better serve their communities.

Read More »
Challenges—and Opportunities—to Addressing Vacant Properties in Raton, New Mexico
September 20, 2023
Challenges—and Opportunities—to Addressing Vacant Properties in Raton, New Mexico

A snapshot of Raton, New Mexico and how the city can tackle vacant and abandoned properties.

Read More »
Looking Back at the 2020-21 Community Revitalization Fellowship: Creative Placemaking by Community Leaders from Three Cities
September 13, 2023
Looking Back at the 2020-21 Community Revitalization Fellowship: Creative Placemaking by Community Leaders from Three Cities

Learn about creative placemaking projects by residents of Birmingham, Alabama; Reading, Pennsylvania; and Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Read More »
Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress
September 5, 2023
Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress

For Kat Guillaume-Delemar, community revitalization is a deeply personal journey.

Read More »
Transforming Cleveland Vacant Lots into an Urban Farm
August 29, 2023
Transforming Cleveland Vacant Lots into an Urban Farm

How the Cuyahoga Land Bank and a community activist worked together to transform a block one property at a time.

Read More »
How a New Jersey Land Bank is Converting Vacant Properties into Homes for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Holders

Learn how Newark, New Jersey is leveraging an underutilized HCV provision to make homeownership a reality for low-income residents.

Read More »
How Philanthropy Powers Land Bank Success 

Examples of how philanthropic partnerships have helped land banks launch new programs to revitalize communities.

Read More »
Five Creative Placemaking Projects Reimagining Live-Work Spaces

Examples of live-work unit projects that are transforming their neighborhoods through creative placemaking.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

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 »