The Baltimore Efficiency and Economy Foundation has developed a way to sell vacant city-owned properties quickly, providing an opportunity to revitalize depressed neighborhoods.
Some Baltimore residents have begun "rehabbing [houses] purchased through a relatively new Baltimore program, Project SCOPE -- or 'Selling City Owned Properties Efficiently,' designed to streamline the sale of vacant houses. It taps the same market mechanisms that most private home sellers rely on -- Realtors and the Multiple Listing Service...Now the city, like any home seller, pays real estate agents a commission in exchange for their expertise and to get the properties on the listing service..." Will the program help Baltimore revitalize its 15,000 vacant properties, 10,000 of which the city owns?
Thanks to David Gest
FULL STORY: Potential through a program

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate
The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency
The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law
Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.
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 Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions