Publications

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.

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

An Assessment of Market Conditions and Trends in the City of Hartford, Connecticut
A Community Progress Technical Assistance Report

This report describes neighborhood market conditions and trends in Hartford, to enable the city and other stakeholders to use this information as a critical tool to inform and develop equitable, efficient, and effective strategies to address disinvestment and decline in neighborhoods and build stronger housing markets throughout the city.

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

Exploring Equitable, Effective, and Efficient Solutions to Vacancy and Abandonment in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
A Community Progress Technical Assistance Report

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2019 technical assistance engagement with the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina to help local officials and their partners better understand the systemic causes of and solutions to problem properties.

State/National Analysis

Heirs’ Property and Land Fractionation
Fostering Stable Ownership to Prevent Land Loss and Abandonment

Real property passed to subsequent generations via intestate succession (i.e., without a will) is termed a tenancy-in-common, or more colloquially, “heirs’ property.” Property may also be classed…

Creative Placemaking

People in Place
The Case for Bridging Place-Based and People-Based Interventions to Disrupt Intergenerational Poverty

This report outlines findings from a gathering of more than 60 thought leaders in place- and people-based institutions dedicated to ending intergenerational poverty.

Code Enforcement System, Local Analysis

Housing and Building Code Enforcement and Vacant Properties in Columbus, Georgia
An Analysis of Legal and Policy Tools Available

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2019 technical assistance engagement with the Columbus Land Bank Authority to review policies and practices related to problem properties.

Land Banks, State/National Analysis

Progress in Community, Excellence in Diversity
A Georgia Association of Land Bank Authorities Publication

This report introduces stakeholders to the wide diversity of Georgia land banks and lifts up the potential of Georgia land banks to achieve larger scale outcomes—the impact of which could benefit the work of housing authorities, community development organizations, neighborhood associations, and more.

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.

Land Banks, Local Analysis

Strengthening the Houston Land Bank
New Legislative Authority to Support Expanded Neighborhood Priorities and Resiliency in Houston

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2017 technical assistance engagement with the Houston Land Bank to support the development of legislation and policy tools that would allow the land bank to ore flexibly address the local needs for land, particularly post-Hurricane Harvey.

Land Banks, Local Analysis, Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets

Land Banking in Albuquerque
Feasibility, Efficacy, and Relationship to Existing Tools for Vacant, Abandoned, and Substandard Properties

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2018 technical assistance engagement with Albuquerque, New Mexico to evaluate the feasibility of land banking as a tool to address vacant, abandoned, and substandard properties in Albuquerque.

Local Analysis, Vacant Land Stewardship

A Review of City Policies and Processes to Enable Five Land-Based Venture Types in Detroit
Report prepared for the City of Detroit's Planning and Development Department

This report shares the findings resulting from the City of Detroit’s Planning and Development Department’s engagement of Community Progress to examine existing local codes and ordinances and identify barriers that would prevent the creation or expansion of land-based ventures.

Code Enforcement System, Local Analysis

An Assessment of Code Enforcement Strategies in Lima, Ohio
Observations and Recommendations

How Lima can address its vacant and abandoned buildings and lots to improve community wellbeing.

Land Banks, Local Analysis

Creating Homeownership Opportunities in Newark through Housing Choice Vouchers
A Newark Land Bank Case Study

How the Newark Land Bank is using Housing Choice Vouchers to help people become homeowners.

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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,…

Publications

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