Publications

State/National Analysis

Property Tax System, State/National Analysis
What Does the Sale of Property Tax Debt Mean for West Virginia Communities?
A Report on Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement and Vacant Property for West Virginia Reformers

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2017 technical assistance engagement with the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority and its partners in West Virginia to build awareness around the urgency to solve VAD property issues in the state.

Read More »
Code Enforcement System, Land Banks, Property Tax System, State/National Analysis
Aligning the Tools: Addressing Vacant, Abandoned, and Deteriorated Properties in Tennessee
A Community Progress Technical Assistance Report

This report shares the findings of Community Progress’ 2017 technical assistance engagement with Memphis, Tennessee to coordinate three key legal tools to address vacancy and abandonment.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
New York State Land Banks
A New National Standard

This report offers a history of the land bank movement in New York, including an assessment of the work completed to date, the factors key to success, and what to expect of this maturing movement in the years to come.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
Take it to the Bank
How Land Banks Are Strengthening America's Neighborhoods

In Take it to the Bank: How Land Banks Are Strengthening America’s Neighborhoods, the Center for Community Progress’ research of more than half the nation’s land banks reveals this and other trends in the growing land bank movement.

Read More »
Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, State/National Analysis
Who’s Moving to the Cities, Who Isn’t
Comparing American Cities

The fact that something is happening in American cities is beyond dispute. Is it just about the march of the millennials to the cities, or, as many writers claim, is it about a shift in preferences cutting across generations; and is it affecting all American cities to roughly the same extent, or are certain cities benefiting, while others are falling behind?

Read More »
State/National Analysis
State of Vacancy in Michigan (2014)
A Community Progress Research Brief

This report illustrates general trends in residential vacancy and distressed property between 2000 and 2013 across Michigan counties and select Michigan cities.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
Georgia Land Bank Resource Manual
A Guide and Toolkit for Land Banking Professionals

The comprehensive Georgia Land Bank Resource Manual guides stakeholders through the process of creating new – and working with existing – land bank authorities, providing template legal documents that can save land bank operators thousands of hours in legal fees.

Read More »
Parcel Data & Neighborhood Markets, Property Tax System, State/National Analysis
Long-Term Stress and Systemic Failure
Taking Seriously the Fiscal Crisis of America’s Older Cities

This report – written for America’s older cities in the wake of the recession, but with lessons for all cities that face fiscal stress – suggests a new approach to end the cycle of decline that has trapped many municipalities.

Read More »
State/National Analysis
Restoring Properties, Rebuilding Communities
Transforming Vacant Properties in Today’s America

This report offers a systemic look at the problem and evaluates actions that can be taken by federal, state and local governments, as well as community organizations, private foundations and real estate developers to stem the tide of increasing vacancy rates and meet the challenges presented by already vacant properties.

Read More »
State/National Analysis
Unlocking the Potential in Heirs’ Properties
Examining Heirs' Property in Three Rural Georgia Counties

This project of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government examines the scale of heirs’ property across three Georgia counties.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
A Decade of Progress
Celebrating 10 Years of Land Banks in New York

This report, prepared for the New York Land Bank Association (NYLBA), documents and celebrates the remarkable rise and achievements of New York land banks.

Read More »
Local Analysis, Property Tax System, State/National Analysis
From Harm to Home
Replicating Detroit's Make it Home Program

Analyzing cities that have the potential to implement a program similar to Detroit’s Make it Home, transitioning tenants to homeowners.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
Resource Guide for Georgia Land Banks
An A-to-Z Toolkit of Sample Documents

The 2022 Resource Guide for Georgia Land Banks is designed to provide new and updated documents for land bank leaders as their operations mature and become more complex. The 2013 manual templates and example documents have proven to be essential tools for community leaders seeking to create land banks under…

Read More »
Land Banks, Property Tax System, State/National Analysis
The Scale and Cost of Blight in Michigan
A One-Page Brief

This one-page explainer provides an overview of what it would cost to tackle all of Michigan’s vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties.

Read More »
State/National Analysis
From State Capitols to City Halls
Smarter State Policies for Stronger Cities

Cities are often held hostage by state policy—but they don’t need to be. This report by Alan Mallach explains the push and pull between city and state governments, and lays the foundation for a more constructive future.

Read More »
State/National Analysis
Progress Points: Systemic Vacancy
A Brief Primer

What is systemic vacancy and how is it different from just a couple of vacant properties? This onepager provides a brief explainer.

Read More »
Land Banks, State/National Analysis
Land Banks and Community Land Trusts
Partnering to Provide Equitable Housing Opportunities Now and for Future Generations

In this report, you’ll learn about the key differences between land banks and community land trusts, and how together they have the potential to help reverse the trajectory of disinvestment to unlock a pipeline of vacant and deteriorated homes to quality, affordable housing for generations.

Read More »
State/National Analysis
State Policy and Problem Property Regulation
A Resource for Practitioners and Policymakers at the State and Local Level

This report is a property regulation resource for practitioners and policymakers at the state and local levels. It focuses on the central theme that state laws and regulations largely determine what local governments can or cannot do to regulate problem properties and is designed to be useful to people working to frame more effective strategies to deal with problem properties and work with state governments and legislatures to enact new laws and amend older ones to that end.

Read More »
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.

Read More »