With thousands of abandoned homes located in neighborhoods of varying shape and character, Chicago has a massive challenge in returning its vacant properties to active use. Can algorithms help leaders decide on the right solutions?
"Last month, fellows with the University of Chicago’s Data Science for Social Good began working with the Chicago area’s newly born Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA)," reports Brady Dale. "The aim is to create a tool that will make it easier to process data on foreclosures, real estate trends and the like to determine which properties are the best candidates for redevelopment. Think of it as a data-backed triage unit for vacant land."
“'I don’t think we’ll be able to create a model that makes those choices easy,' Thomas Plagge, a post-doc in astrophysics and mentor for the land use fellows said. 'What I think that we’ll be able to prototype out is a selection of algorithms that the land bank staff can apply to different neighborhoods in different situations.'”
“A lot of times when the government intervenes in the real estate market, they have this kind of one-size-fits-all solution,” Plagge continued. “We want to be more flexible, and we also want to be able to evaluate our interventions on the fly and bake that into the cake.”
FULL STORY: Applying Big Data to Vacants, and Other Steps Taken By Chicago’s Land Bank
Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties
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Population Decline in the Latest Census Estimates
Not only are suburbs growing, many of the larger, older cities that had reversed decades of population decline, are now losing population, again. The biggest losers: counties with the greatest population densities.
Cook County Land Bank Expands Vacancy Program, Offers 4,400 Lots for Sale
The vacant lot program at the Cook County Land Bank Authority recently kicked into high gear—offering a huge number of vacant lots for sale, located around 27 neighborhoods and suburbs in the Chicago region.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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