Communities aim to stabilize neighborhoods through effective rental registration and certification programs

  Code enforcement is an important tool for addressing blighted property conditions and stabilizing neighborhoods. When we talk about that, however, we often focus on vacant, blighted property, and less so on occupied, blighted property. Many City and land bank-led initiatives have programs to demolish and rehab vacant, abandoned properties, and encourage new residents to…

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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 is not enough. In the same way that many in the healthcare sector have embraced the importance of preventive medicine, we must find ways to halt deteriorating property…

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Baltimore and Detroit get aggressive with nuisance properties

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference.  With a staggering 84,000-plus 90,000 vacant properties — nearly a quarter of all properties in the city — Detroit is dealing with blight on a scale unknown anywhere else in the country. Baltimore, a much…

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Wheeling, WV’s code enforcement strategy contends with a graying city

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is part of the 2013 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference liveblog series. Check out all the in-depth content — even if you weren’t able to join us in Philadelphia from September 9-11, 2013, you’ll feel like you did! Every city wants to know the secret to effective, budget-friendly code enforcement. But if there’s…

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Efficient property tax collections vs. the cult of homeownership

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is part of the 2013 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference liveblog series. Check out all the in-depth content — even if you weren’t able to join us in Philadelphia from September 9-11, 2013, you’ll feel like you did! This morning’s session “Making the Case for Efficient, Effective and Equitable Tax Foreclosure Reform” raised…

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Adding “oomph” to enforcement: a statewide coalition reshapes Louisiana’s blight fight

What started out as a lunchtime conversation at a national conference back in 2010 culminated this past spring with state legislative reforms that dramatically strengthen blight prevention policies in Louisiana. Specifically, a power that was previously available only in New Orleans is now open to all municipalities and parishes: the ability to enforce code liens…

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