Publications

Pennsylvania

Land Banks, Local Analysis

Evaluation of the Tri-COG Land Bank Business Plan
A Solid Foundation for a Regional Approach to Vacancy and Abandonment in the Mon Valley and Beyond

Community Progress evaluates the 2014 Tri-COG Land Bank Business Plan, recognizes and commends key elements, and details areas for further improvement.

Creative Placemaking, State/National Analysis

Placemaking in Legacy Cities
Opportunities and Good Practices

Placemaking in Legacy Cities: Opportunities and Good Practices explores how residents and leaders in Legacy Cities have used placemaking principles to transform blighted public spaces into revitalized community assets.

Land Banks, Local Analysis

Tri-COG Land Bank Strategic Plan 2023-27
Transforming Vacant Properties in Pennsylvania

Strategic plan prepared for the Tri-COG Land Bank (TCLB) by the Community Progress to assist TCLB in preparing a for its future achieving greater impact creating more equitable communities.

Vacant Land Stewardship

Greening and Community Health
Vacant Land Stewardship Research Series

Stabilizing vacant lots through cleanups and regular maintenance can help to reduce the harms of unmaintained vacant land on mental and physical health.

Land Banks, Vacant Land Stewardship

Greening and Community Safety
Vacant Land Stewardship Research Series

This fact sheet summarizes key takeaways from recent studies exploring the community safety benefits associated with five common greening strategies.

ARPA, Code Enforcement System, COVID-19, Land Banks, Local Analysis, Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, Property Tax System, State/National Analysis, Vacant Land Stewardship

Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment
Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession

Ten years on from the Great Recession, we take stock of lessons learned from that crisis and how they might be applied to future challenges. This edited volume, jointly produced by Community Progress and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland, contains twelve articles by national experts in the field of neighborhood revitalization.

COVID-19, Creative Placemaking, State/National Analysis

The Saving Power of Community Creativity
Highlights of Arts, Culture, and Creative Placemaking Responses to COVID-19

Arts and culture organizations play a critical role in supporting communities, particularly in times of crisis. This publication recognizes the people and groups using creative placemaking to revitalize their communities.

Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, Racial Equity, State/National Analysis

Making the Comeback
Reversing the Downward Trajectory of African American Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities

Black urban middle neighborhoods are facing an existential crisis. This report shares key highlights from Alan Mallach’s research from predominately Black neighborhoods in six legacy cities and offers strategies for Black middle neighborhood revival.

Creative Placemaking, State/National Analysis

Trends in Creative Placemaking on Problem Properties
2019 National Survey Findings

This report shares trends, case studies, and survey responses from people involved in creative placemaking and shares how they’re addressing problem properties to advance community revitalization.

Creative Placemaking, Local Analysis

Creative Placemaking on Vacant Properties
Lessons Learned from Four Cities

This report offers a definition of creative placemaking and describes how arts and culture can be used to revive vacant properties.

Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, State/National Analysis

The Empty House Next Door
Understanding and Reducing Vacancy and Hypervacancy in the United States

In this Lincoln Institute of Land Policy publication, renowned city planner and housing advocate Alan Mallach presents effective strategies for community leaders, local officials, and nonprofits contending with vacant properties in the United States.

Code Enforcement System, Local Analysis, Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, Property Tax System

The Cost of Vacant and Blighted Properties in Pittsburgh
A Conservative Analysis of Service, Tax Delinquency, and Spillover Costs

In order to raise awareness of the true costs of vacant and distressed property in Pittsburgh, in 2016 the City of Pittsburgh retained the Center for Community Progress to perform a “cost of blight” study.