Residents who put in the effort of maintaining vacant property will have their hard work rewarded and will be offered the opportunity to purchase the property.

Memphis residents who have been mowing the empty lot next door will have the opportunity to turn their efforts into cash that can be applied to the purchase of the vacant land. "Many residents in Tennessee largest city have been mowing neighboring parcels for years, but an ordinance approved Oct. 20 on first reading by City Council credits mowers $25 [per] cut for three years." Dave Nyczepir of Route Fifty reports that the program will apply to properties in Shelby County and the city of Memphis valued between $500 and $10,000.
The maximum amount residents can earn for three years of mowing is $1,350, which can then be applied to the purchase of the property. Any difference in the value of the property and the $1,350 would need to be made up by the buyer, in addition to a $175 administrative fee.
Linda Moore of The Commercial Appeal reports that there are over 3,500 vacant properties in the county, with 97 percent of them in the city of Memphis. "An eligible property owned by the county would be gifted to the city for the program. The city will then deed the property to the participant when the maintenance agreement is fulfilled."
Memphis City Councilman Berlin Boyd sees the program as an opportunity to "create and put pride back in some of these neighborhoods," while reducing maintenance costs for the city and returning previous nontaxable properties back to the tax rolls of the city and county.
FULL STORY: Another City Turns to Mow-to-Own Program

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

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)