Posts Tagged ‘Detroit’
This Tax Day, making the case for property tax reform in Detroit
Ineffective property tax systems can have a detrimental community impact. They weaken the delivery of services that improve quality of life for local residents – from essential functions like public safety, to supportive services like enforcement of property maintenance standards. Many of the cities that we work in face a shrinking population, widespread property…
Read MoreTwo new resources to inform short- and long-term vacant land reuse
When it comes to vacant land reuse, perhaps no other city in the nation faces as great of a challenge and as much of an opportunity as Detroit. Currently, Detroit has an inventory of more than 100,000 vacant parcels without buildings. In terms of land mass, that’s around 20 square miles of empty land, roughly…
Read MoreNew research finds investment in neighborhood stabilization pays off—and more is needed
“House prices have sufficiently recovered and foreclosure activities have sufficiently abated.” That was the faulty argument made this past July to support a U.S. Senate proposal that would have rescinded federal Hardest Hit Funds – a critical source of funding for neighborhood stabilization efforts in communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis – in order…
Read MoreBaltimore 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…
Read MoreCan Detroit’s vacant factories become community assets?
Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. Heading east along I-94 from Detroit’s resurgent Midtown area, two massive structures loom on the horizon. For passing drivers, they’re awe-inducing symbols of both the city’s former industrial might and the dismaying scale of its post-industrial challenges. The Fisher…
Read MoreHow Detroit Taught Itself to Demolish Vacant Houses Safely
Cross-posted from Next City, this article is one of a ten-part series inspired by the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. “It kind of used to be like the Wild West a few years ago,” Regina Royan recalls, thinking back on how buildings were being demolished in Detroit prior to 2014. The old norms, she says, lacked oversight. “We realized…
Read MoreImmigration 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 into neighborhoods that have seen disinvestment and abandonment. At the 2015 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, participants will have the opportunity to explore immigration and community development in Detroit through a…
Read MoreSouth 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 Properties Conference: it’s a chance learn from each other but, perhaps just as importantly, it is an opportunity to remember that we aren’t alone in this work. Together, we’re part of…
Read MoreDallas, Detroit, Gary and Trenton awarded technical assistance scholarships
Community Progress launched the competitive Technical Assistance Scholarship Program (TASP) in 2014, to help us find and support today’s pioneers in the work to reclaim and revitalize problem properties. TASP seeks out “changemakers” who are improving the field of practice, and it helps those leaders effect positive change on the ground. Today, we’re pleased to…
Read MoreBreaking down deconstruction: What Detroit gained from dismantling instead of destroying
It might not be immediately obvious, but in the rubble and decay of vacant, dilapidated properties — those that are so far deteriorated, they’ve been slated for demolition — there is much value to be found. That’s where deconstruction comes into the picture. Deconstruction is the process of salvaging the structural components of a blighted…
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