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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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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Explaining the Cycle of Systemic Vacancy
August 24, 2023
Explaining the Cycle of Systemic Vacancy

Systemic vacancy is the community experience of widespread property vacancy caused by the combined actions of people, policies, and processes.

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Celebrating 20 Years of Land Banks in Michigan
August 17, 2023
Celebrating 20 Years of Land Banks in Michigan

In 2023, Michigan land banks mark two important milestones: 20 years since the passage of Michigan’s Land Bank Fast Track Act and incorporation of the 50th land bank in the state.

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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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What are Proactive Rental Inspection Programs?: Keeping Homes Occupied and Communities Healthy

Proactive rental inspection programs shift code enforcement from reactive to strategic, identifying health hazards like lead paint, mold, and broken heating before they harm tenants or push properties toward vacancy. Learn how local governments design effective programs, with examples from cities across the country.

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How Land Banks Can Address Brownfields: Case Studies

Land banks are well-positioned to engage in brownfield redevelopment. As public entities with unique powers to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, land banks can help communities return these properties to productive use in alignment with community goals. A growing number of communities across the country are seeing land banks…

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Why Home Repair Programs Are Essential for Preventing Property Vacancy and Abandonment

Home repair is a core strategy to stop properties from becoming vacant in the first place.

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How Better Data Helps Communities Address Vacancy

What data sources you should be looking at if you’re interested in understanding, tracking, and solving property vacancy in your community.

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Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

How to write a session proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference that will get noticed.

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