Other Resources

Please bear with us as we pull together our new web site. Check back soon for links to the most up-to-date resources to help inform your work. As we continue to develop our site, you can still visit the sites for the National Vacant Properties Campaign and the Genesee Institute. Check back for more resources soon and please send us those you think others will find useful.

Presentations from the 2010 Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference are available!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for October’s Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference in Cleveland. Over 900 stakeholders from communities across the country participated, making this the biggest and most exciting RVP to date! View more information »

Center for Community Progress releases new report

This new report sums up the experience of the National Vacant Properties Campaign and the Genesee Institute over the last few years—experiences that when combined with the today’s reality led to the creation of Community Progress. Restoring Properties, Rebuilding Communities: Transforming Vacant Properties in Today’s America reflects on our understanding of the context of vacancies in the nation today, highlights some of the successful efforts around the country to combat the challenges, and sets forth a series of principles for transformative change.

Federal Reserve Banks release new resources about REOs and vacant properties

In September, the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and Cleveland and the Federal Reserve Board released a new report, REO & Vacant Properties: Strategies for Neighborhood Stabilization, that examines solutions for neighborhood stabilization. The report is divided into two sections: The Scope and Nature of the REO Challenge, and Strategies for Dealing with REO and Vacant Properties. Get the report and watch video of the September 1-2 event.

Presentations from the 2010 Land Bank conference available!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for June’s bigger than ever Land Bank Conference in Lansing. Nearly 300 stakeholders from communities across the state participated in sessions focused on development, land management, organization, and policy related land banks, tax foreclosure reform, and other vacant and abandoned property issues. Mark your calendars for next year: June 5-7 in Detroit! View more information »

Neighborhood Stabilization Land Bank Toolkit

To help communities plan an implement their Neighborhood Stabilization Program activities, HUD has asked experts from around the country to contribute to a series of Toolkits. Each include “program steps” to break down the topics into usable resources. Community Progress developed the Land Banking Toolkit, which includes information about program setup, acquisition of properties, property and occupancy management, and program administration. Visit HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program Resource Exchange to download the information.

A Full Response to an Empty House: Public Safety Strategies for Addressing Mortgage Fraud and the Foreclosure Crisis

In 2009, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (U.S. Department of Justice) brought together experts to examine solutions to the mortgage fraud, vacancies, and neighborhood instability that had been fueled by changes in the economy. The Center for Court Innovation facilitated the two-day discussion that is documented in A Full Response to an Empty House.

The City of Cleveland Code Enforcement Partnership

In early summer 2008, Cleveland identified 8,009 blighted, vacant residential structures that are public nuisances in its neighborhoods—caused in part due to long-term economic loss and in part due to a flood of foreclosures. Cleveland’s Building and Housing Department has fought against this blight by aggressively boarding, condemning, and demolishing nuisance properties, but while vacant, nuisance properties increased, the Department reduced staff levels to stay within its budget. To maximize Building and Housing’s ability to provide effective code enforcement for the whole city, the City formed a partnership with area community development corporations to systematically inspect vacant properties and citizen complaints. The City of Cleveland Code Enforcement Partnership (June 2009), written by Mark Frater, Colleen M. Gilson, and Ronald J.H. O’Leary, describes the partnership.