With roughly 10,000 foreclosures in the last two years, Cleveland has been hit hard by the economic crisis.
"Vacant houses are not a new phenomenon to the city. Ravaged by the closing of American steel mills, Cleveland has long been in decline. With fewer manufacturing jobs to attract workers, it has lost half its population since 1960. Its poverty rate is one of the highest in the nation. But in all those years, nothing has approached the current scale of ruin.
And in December, just when local officials thought things couldn't get worse, Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, posted a record number of foreclosure filings. The number of empty houses is so staggeringly high that no one has an accurate count. The city estimates that 10,000 houses, or 1 in 13, are vacant. The county treasurer says it's more likely 15,000. Most of the vacant houses are owned by lenders who foreclosed on the properties and by the wholesalers who are now sweeping in to pick up houses in bulk, as if they were trading in baseball cards."
Read the full story: All Boarded Up
Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis Still Felt in Parts of Cleveland
Call it a tale of two housing markets.
Cleveland Still Experiencing Fallout From Great Recession
National economic indicators may look good, but some areas are still clawing their way back from the 2008 recession. Cleveland's Slavic Village, an "epicenter" of the foreclosure crisis, is one of them.
Terms and Concepts for Understanding Land Banks
Clarifying some of the jargon that drives the land bank process in Cuyahoga County, Ohio reveals the importance and scale of neighborhood stabilization in some parts of the country.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember
Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.
New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks
Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade homeowners $2,700 in 2028.
Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms
The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority