In some cities and neighborhoods, the number of vacant properties is the only thing growing.
"Despite a drop in numbers across much of the United States since the recession, vacant and abandoned properties continue to dog struggling postindustrial cities, tearing apart neighborhoods with growing intensity," according to a on article sharing a new report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Alan Mallach authored the report, titled The Empty House Next Door: Understanding and Reducing Vacancy and Hypervacancy in the United States. The report finds evidence of increasing vacancies in cities like Detroit, St. Louis, and Cleveland. According to the article, "the number of units that are effectively abandoned has increased by 2.1 million units nationally, from 3.7 million in 2005 to 5.8 million in 2016, an increase roughly equal to five times the entire housing stock of San Francisco."
The report not only accounts for the places where vacancies are rising, but also discusses both obstacles to addressing vacancies (like "cumbersome property tax foreclosure processes" and "state laws and bank practices that lead to thousands of properties being stuck in foreclosure limbo). Prescriptions and strategies for addressing the challenges created by vacancies are also discussed.
FULL STORY: Vacant properties plague struggling U.S. cities, according to new report
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Orlando Pledges to Improve Walkability
A city report highlights successes and failures in building safer transportation infrastructure and reducing VMT in 2023.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
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.