Vacant Properties
Pennsylvania Law Removes Obstacles to Blight Reduction
“We don’t need every old coal miner’s house” to stay standing, says Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill).
How Abandoned Properties Can Be Used for Redevelopment
Abandoned properties can be a burden on a community, bringing everything from negative curb appeal to an increase in crime. Using these properties for positive community development can kill two birds with one stone.
Detroit Residents Find it Hard to Access Land Bank Properties
Longtime residents say the city is not fulfilling its goal of keeping vacant parcels in the hands of locals as property values rise steeply.
Pittsburgh Revitalization Plans Stuck on Blight
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently published an investigation of the city's efforts to buy and rehabilitate vacant properties in the troubled neighborhood of Homewood.
A Dark Night for the Right to Housing Movement
After a string of high-profile successes in places as geographically distant as Philadelphia and the East Bay Area, an ugly episode in L.A. County the day before Thanksgiving dealt a brutal setback to the burgeoning right to housing movement.
The State of Commercial Corridors (And How to Protect Them During the Pandemic)
The pandemic is accelerating recent trends in commercial real estate with potentially catastrophic consequences for the commercial corridors that play such a fundamental role in the urban fabric.
$160 Million in Bond Funding for Demolitions on the Ballot in Detroit
Proposal N, on the ballot for Detroit voters next week, will provide $160 million in bond funding for demolitions and $90 million to mothball homes for future rehab, but, according to this opinion, it won't solve the city's blight challenges.
Detroit Continues Demolition Program After Lead Risks Revealed
The city of Detroit said it would halt a demolition program after a report revealed the amount of lead released by demolitions into the environment, risking the health of children and other local residents.
Vacant Properties Occupied by Homeless Families Turned Over to Community Land Trust
A major victory in the fight for housing justice has been achieved in Philadelphia.
Demolitions Can't Keep Pace With Vacancies in Baltimore
As the city of Baltimore grapples with a declining population, it faces obstinate challenges in controlling the problems associated with vacant buildings, including the "vicious cycle" of vacancies causing more vacancies.
Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties
Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.
Number of Vacant Properties Declining in Syracuse
Like many cities around the country, the city of Syracuse struggles with vacant and blighted residential properties. Lately, Syracuse can report positive progress on the challenge.
New Tool Puts Miami Development Opportunities on the Map
There's plenty of vacant or underutilized land to be found in Miami-Dade County, if you know where and how to look.
From Vacant Property to Affordable Housing Development
The city of St. Petersburg provides a model for transforming blight to a blessing.
Speculation Leaves 50 Million Homes Empty in China
Experts say China has the highest vacancy rate on residential units of any country in the world. The roots of the problem lay in housing speculation, according to China's leaders.
Property Taxes Due on Chicago's $1 Large Lots
So you bought a lot for $1 under the city of Chicago's Large Lots program. Expect your bills to go up a lot more than that measly sum.
A Program to Convert Vacant Properties Into Affordable Housing
Rochester, New York is launching the new Neighbors for Neighbors program.
Where Housing Prices Are Too Low
While the housing crisis of expensive coastal cities gets all the attention, many parts of the country are challenged with real estate markets that lack the stability to attract investments.
Optimism and Investment, Not 'Managed Decline," for the Rust Belt
Managed decline assumes that struggling cities will continue to struggle indefinitely. Is there a better way to plot neighborhood stabilization?
Vacant Properties Trouble Tight Housing Markets Too
Minneapolis is, by many accounts, home to a thriving economy. Why then, are there so many vacant properties in the city?
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
