National Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference in Chicago, Illinois on September 7-9, 2022

Washington, D.C. –  Center for Community Progress will host the tenth national Reclaiming Vacant Properties (RVP) Conference in Chicago, Illinois, on September 7-9, 2022, at the Hilton Chicago. Community Progress is America’s leading nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to equitably address the full cycle of property revitalization.  

“Community Progress is thrilled to host the tenth Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference in Chicago,” said Akilah Watkins, president and CEO. “Chicago’s community development leaders have a lot to share with a diverse national audience. At the same time, Chicagoans will have the opportunity to learn from other national experts about new strategies to address and implement equitable change in response to the ongoing threats of COVID-19.”  

The Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference is the only national conference dedicated to exploring how to strengthen communities and combat widespread property vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration. Participants can expect to connect with professionals in over 60 engaging sessions and mobile workshops highlighting strategies from across the nation to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties. Session topics will include land banks, reuse of buildings and land, code enforcement, arts and placemaking, property tax systems, and more. Mobile workshops, led by revitalization leaders, will take participants into Chicago’s neighborhoods to experience revitalization strategies firsthand.  

The 2022 Reclaiming Vacant Property conference is expected to bring together approximately 1,000 leaders under the theme Responding to Crisis: Building an Equitable and Resilient Future. “As communities face the threats of COVID-19—a public health, housing, and economic crisis—and higher frequency of extreme weather events, there is an urgent need to address the negative impacts of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, centering those BIPOC communities that are disproportionally impacted by these multiple crises,” Watkins said. 

For more information and real-time updates visit reclaimingvacantproperties.org.  

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About the Center for Community Progress 

Founded in 2010, the Center for Community Progress is the national leader for building strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods. Today, Community Progress has affected change in more than 48 states and seven countries through leadership education and collaborative systems, policy, and practice reforms. Simply, we work to transform “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.”