Want to learn more about the vacancy and property abandonment problem in ºüÀêÊÓƵ? Here are links to a handful of reports, studies and other resources that may prove helpful:
FIND A VACANTÌý• The — an initiative by area nonprofit groups, city agencies and other community stakeholders — recently launched a website that maps more than 20,000 vacant or abandoned buildings and lots. Users can learn the property's history, and link to other databases with more information. Find the map here:
EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM? • In this recent paper, three sociologists — including two at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University — contend published estimates of the number of vacant parcels in the city may be too low. Their methodology is explained in “ºüÀêÊÓƵ's 'Urban Prairie': Vacant Land and the Potential for Revitalization,†which can be found here:
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THE MAYOR'S PLAN • Lyda Krewson, who served on the Board of Aldermen for 20 years before she was elected mayor in 2017, calls vacancy reduction a top priority for her administration. In July, she released “A Plan to Reduce Vacant Lots and Buildings.†It can be found online here: Ìý
FIGHTING CRIME • About 15 percent of the land in U.S. cities is classified as vacant or abandoned, an area equivalent to the size of Switzerland. Vacant, abandoned buildings and lots are seen as a threat to health and safety for urban residents. This study suggests remediating vacant urban land will “significantly reduce gun violence, crime, and fear.†Read the study, published in early 2018 by PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), here:
WE'RE NOT ALONE • This analysis, produced this year by the , looks at hypervacancy in a number of major cities, including ºüÀêÊÓƵ, and offers some defining characteristics. The report is available here: Ìý
A BETTER WORD • In this CityLab essay published in 2017, staff writer Brentin Mock argues that the word "blight" carries a lot of baggage — “usually as a pretext for some kind of drastic project that results in massive displacement†— and should be used judiciously. Read it here:
FIXING LRA • This report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, titled “ºüÀêÊÓƵ Land Bank Assessment,†looks at some of the challenges faced by the 47-year-old Land Reutilization Authority — and makes recommendations for improvement. It's online here: Ìý
ARMS CONTROL • Want to reduce gun violence in the city? Urban blight remediation programs — targeting abandoned buildings and vacant lots — may offer an answer, according to this paper published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2016. Find it here: Ìý
UNEQUAL AND UNEVENÌý• Academics J. Rosie Tighe and Joanna P. Ganning studied ºüÀêÊÓƵ development policy, and found city strategies worked to "devastate poor and minority communities, while leaving white and middle-class communities largely intact." A link to their 2015 study, "The divergent city: unequal and uneven development in ºüÀêÊÓƵ," can be found here:
A PRIMER • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban produced a useful overview of vacancy and property abandonment issues in 2014. It's available here: Ìý
Previously, about illegal dumping:
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