Blog

Home » Blog

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.

Filter by Date

Topics

Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement Could Be the Missing Piece in Fighting Vacant Properties
February 21, 2023
Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement Could Be the Missing Piece in Fighting Vacant Properties

A well-designed delinquent tax enforcement system can help communities return properties to productive use.

Read More »
The Community-led Effort to Address Vacant and Abandoned Properties in St. Louis County, Missouri
February 13, 2023
The Community-led Effort to Address Vacant and Abandoned Properties in St. Louis County, Missouri

St. Louis County needed a county-wide land bank to work with local communities and partners to help return vacant and abandoned properties to productive use. But breaking the cycle of vacancy requires a comprehensive approach.

Read More »
Leaders in Land Banking: A Conversation with Adam Zaranko at the Albany County Land Bank
January 26, 2023
Leaders in Land Banking: A Conversation with Adam Zaranko at the Albany County Land Bank

We spoke with the Albany County Land Bank Corporation’s Executive Director Adam Zaranko about affordable housing initiatives, the importance of diversified partnerships, and what’s coming up for…

Read More »
From Harm to Home: Replicating Detroit’s Make it Home Program
December 13, 2022
From Harm to Home: Replicating Detroit’s Make it Home Program

The City of Detroit’s innovative Make it Home program harnesses the power of the traditionally harmful property tax foreclosure process and uses it to increase affordable homeownership, improve housing conditions, and stabilize neighborhoods.  

Read More »
What does equitable code enforcement look like? How Louisville is taking steps to use its code enforcement process to advance racial equity
November 30, 2022
What does equitable code enforcement look like? How Louisville is taking steps to use its code enforcement process to advance racial equity

With technical assistance support from Community Progress, Louisville is reforming their housing and building code enforcement with equity in mind.

Read More »
A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins
September 14, 2022
A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins

Dear friends and supporters of the Center for Community Progress, With great sadness and great gratitude, I announce that I will be departing from the Center for…

Read More »
Resident Engagement in Vacant Lot Greening: Empowering Communities for Neighborhood Revitalization
September 1, 2022
Resident Engagement in Vacant Lot Greening: Empowering Communities for Neighborhood Revitalization

This is an excerpt of Chapter 11 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress,…

Read More »
Over Forty National, Local, and Land Bank Stakeholders Join Community Progress in Asking Bank Regulators to Strengthen the CRA
August 30, 2022
Over Forty National, Local, and Land Bank Stakeholders Join Community Progress in Asking Bank Regulators to Strengthen the CRA

On August 5th, 2022, Community Progress and forty-three supporting organizations across the country submitted a public comment calling for the modernized Community Reinvestment Act to center racial…

Read More »
Building Resilience: Leveraging Innovative Partnerships and Low Cost Capital to Meet Affordable Single-Family Housing Needs
August 25, 2022
Building Resilience: Leveraging Innovative Partnerships and Low Cost Capital to Meet Affordable Single-Family Housing Needs

This is an excerpt of Chapter 10 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress,…

Read More »
Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Emerging Partners for a Resilient and Equitable Recovery
August 2, 2022
Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Emerging Partners for a Resilient and Equitable Recovery

This is an excerpt of Chapter 9 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress,…

Read More »
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.

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 »
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.  

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
What Can Neighbors Do about Vacant Buildings and Lots?

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

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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?

Read More »
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.

Read More »