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Community Progress publishes reports, case studies, and toolkits to help communities across the country turn vacant spaces into vibrant places. Download hundreds of free resources today, and sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest publications directly in your inbox.

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Geography

Brownfields, Land Banks
Land Banks & Brownfield Redevelopment
A Step-by-Step Overview

A step-by-step guide for how land banks can redevelop polluted or contaminated properties and put them back to productive use.

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Code Enforcement System, Land Banks, Local Analysis, Property Tax System
Enhancing Capacity to Repurpose New Jersey’s Vacant Properties
How to Advance Community Goals Through Land Banking and Other Tools

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. The competition for land (with and without structures) is being felt acutely across the…

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Land Banks, Racial Equity
The Road Ahead for Land Banks
Opportunities for Growth and Greater Equity

For nearly 15 years, the Center for Community Progress has tirelessly worked with hundreds of land bank leaders, practitioners, partners, and allies to help land banks revitalize…

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Land Banks, Racial Equity
How Land Banks Are Leading Racial Justice Efforts
Moving from Vision to Action for Equitable Development

It is not a coincidence that systemic vacancy—and its associated social, economic, and environmental harms—disproportionately affects Black and Brown neighborhoods. This is the result of decades of…

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Land Banks, Local Analysis
Exploring the Utility and Value of Creating a Land Bank in Atlantic City
New Jersey Land Bank Launch Technical Assistance Scholarship

This memo is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. This memorandum summarizes key takeaways, observations, and recommendations for the U.S. HART CARES leadership…

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Land Banks, Local Analysis
Assessment of VAD Strategies and a Land Bank in Salem, New Jersey
New Jersey Land Bank Launch Technical Assistance Scholarship

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. This memorandum summarizes key takeaways, observations, and recommendations for the City of Salem (City)…

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Land Banks, Local Analysis
Land Banks in New Jersey 101
A Tool for Addressing Problem Properties to Serve Community Goals

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. Across the country, over 300 land banks are mitigating the harms of vacant, abandoned,…

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Land Banks
Sample Land Bank Long-Term Housing Affordability Disposition Policy
A Resource for Land Banks and Their Community Land Trust Partners

A resource for land banks and their community land trust partners outlining a framework for disposition policies that incentivize long-term affordable housing.

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Brownfields, Land Banks
How to Form a Land Bank
A 10-Step Guide

A ten-step guide to forming a land bank in your community.

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cover image of the land banks and brownfields factsheet
Brownfields, Land Banks
Land Banks & Brownfields
A Brief Primer

Land banks are uniquely positioned to tackle contaminated and potentially contaminated vacant properties. Learn more.

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Brownfields, Land Banks
Land Banks & Brownfield Redevelopment
A Step-by-Step Overview

A step-by-step guide for how land banks can redevelop polluted or contaminated properties and put them back to productive use.

Read More »
Local Analysis
Addressing Vacant, Abandoned, and Deteriorated Properties in Arkansas
A Policy Brief

Arkansas communities face sizable challenges with vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties—what many call “blighted” properties. These challenges encompass vacant commercial properties in the state’s rural main streets and urban downtowns, abandoned houses and overgrown lots in residential neighborhoods, and deteriorated structures scattered throughout rural and agricultural communities. Nearly 30…

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Code Enforcement System, Land Banks, Local Analysis, Property Tax System
Enhancing Capacity to Repurpose New Jersey’s Vacant Properties
How to Advance Community Goals Through Land Banking and Other Tools

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. The competition for land (with and without structures) is being felt acutely across the Garden State. Since the pandemic, many New Jersey communities have seen markets flip almost overnight, with an influx of new residents who had…

Read More »
Land Banks, Racial Equity
The Road Ahead for Land Banks
Opportunities for Growth and Greater Equity

For nearly 15 years, the Center for Community Progress has tirelessly worked with hundreds of land bank leaders, practitioners, partners, and allies to help land banks revitalize their communities. Through our expert guidance, resources, leadership programming, policy advocacy, and the National Land Bank Network (NLBN), we have been an integral…

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Land Banks, Racial Equity
How Land Banks Are Leading Racial Justice Efforts
Moving from Vision to Action for Equitable Development

It is not a coincidence that systemic vacancy—and its associated social, economic, and environmental harms—disproportionately affects Black and Brown neighborhoods. This is the result of decades of racist, inequitable policies and institutional disinvestment. Land banks are a powerful tool to break this cycle of vacancy, coordinate new investments in long-neglected…

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Property Tax System
Policy Brief: Tyler v. Hennepin County in 2024
Updated Analysis and Policy Reform Options

On May 25, 2023, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, making a significant incursion into the state and local government practice of property tax foreclosure. In short, the Tyler decision posits that tax foreclosure is solely a debt collection tool and that local…

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Land Banks, Local Analysis
Exploring the Utility and Value of Creating a Land Bank in Atlantic City
New Jersey Land Bank Launch Technical Assistance Scholarship

This memo is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. This memorandum summarizes key takeaways, observations, and recommendations for the U.S. HART CARES leadership team (US HART) and the City of Atlantic City (City) to consider as they explore implementation of a land bank to address vacant,…

Read More »
Land Banks, Local Analysis
Assessment of VAD Strategies and a Land Bank in Salem, New Jersey
New Jersey Land Bank Launch Technical Assistance Scholarship

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. This memorandum summarizes key takeaways, observations, and recommendations for the City of Salem (City) and its partner, the Cumberland County Improvement Authority (The Authority) to consider as they explore implementation of a land bank to address vacant,…

Read More »
Land Banks, Local Analysis
Land Banks in New Jersey 101
A Tool for Addressing Problem Properties to Serve Community Goals

This brief is a product of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative. Across the country, over 300 land banks are mitigating the harms of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties on neighbors and neighborhoods, and advancing equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities. Land banks have profound positive impact in the…

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Creative Placemaking
How Local Governments Can Facilitate Creative Placemaking on Vacant Property
Recommendations for Policy and Practice

Creative placemaking is the practice of enhancing a neighborhood’s quality of life through arts, culture, and intentional community development to meet the vision of the people who live, work, and play there. This practice takes various forms, including but not limited to temporary visual art installations, performance events, and permanent…

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