Vacant Lots
Guerilla Urbanism: Small Interventions, Big Impact
Citizen-led projects can lead to broader changes — if cities will listen.
DC ‘Vacant to Vibrant’ Properties Remain Vacant
The city auctioned off 58 lots at low prices to stimulate housing development. Half are still vacant.
Parking Takes up One-Quarter of Downtown Atlanta
The city’s downtown core devotes an abnormally high percentage of its historic blocks to parking.
Map Identifies DeKalb County Brownfield Sites
The GIS tool is designed to help developers find vacant and blighted lots that could be restored for new housing or other uses.
Phoenix Moves to Build Affordable Housing on City-Owned Land
The city has so far issued two requests for proposals from developers to build mixed-income housing on city-owned lots.
Group Urges L.A. to Build Housing on Vacant Lots
A survey of city-owned vacant lots identifies properties that could be developed into affordable housing or shelter.
Detroit Mayor Proposes Vacant Lot Tax
A new tax plan would reform the city’s famously low vacancy tax rates in an effort to stimulate more housing development and limit speculation.
Proposed Land Value Tax Plan in Detroit
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan proposes hiking property taxes for vacant land and buildings while lowering the rate for occupied homes and businesses in a split tax plan he contends will resolve many of Detroit's blight and high property tax woes.
New Yorkers Need Land. NYPD is Sitting on Nearly 150 Lots.
A new map reveals how much land in New York City is being wasted by city police—often sitting vacant, rather than serving the public good.
Philadelphia Mayor Hopefuls Want More Affordable Housing on Vacant Lots
Many of the candidates agree that a slow, complex sales process and strong councilmanic prerogative hinder the development of city-owned lots.
How Low Land Taxes Contribute to the Housing Shortage
The relatively low cost of holding on to vacant lots leads to underdevelopment in what are often prime residential areas.
Chicago To Boost Vacant Lot Sales Program
The city hopes its incentives to buyers will help convert the thousands of city-owned vacant lots into housing, green space, or other productive uses.
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.
California Not Creating Affordable Housing Quickly Enough, Audit Finds
The audit points to inefficiencies in the state's process for identifying and using surplus properties to create affordable housing.
The Importance of Unintentional Nature in Cities
A new book argues in favor of spontaneous, informal natural spaces.
Opinion: Richmond, Virginia Needs a Land Value Tax
Switching from property tax to a land value tax could rein in sprawl, boost urban density, and lower the cost of housing.
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.
Houston Residents Want to Build Pocket Parks on City-Owned Lots
In a park-poor neighborhood, vacant lots provide an untapped opportunity for small-scale parks.
Newark Launches Land Bank to Revive Long-Vacant Properties
The land bank will assess proposals for the sale and redevelopment of 100 city-owned properties in neglected neighborhoods.
Key Considerations for Urban Demolition Planning
Demolition can be a lot of fun for the people holding the sledge hammers and swinging the wrecking balls, but demolition is serious business with a large number of significant social and environmental consequences.
Pagination
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.