St. Louis Public Radio explains the various efforts of the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority.
"St. Louis has the distinction of having the oldest land bank in the country, created by a Missouri state statute in 1971," according to an article by Maria Altman. "It was a response to St. Louis’ quickly shrinking population after reaching a height of 856,000 people in 1950." These days, the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) owns more than 11,000 parcelts in the city of St. Louis.
In addition to explaining the larger and ongoing project of the LRA, Altman describes some of the "renewed focus on what to do with all the vacant land LRA controls." That renewed focus includes a Vacant Land and Blight Task Force several months again that includes both public and private stakeholders.
Altman also reports that Mayor Francis Slay in May announced a "Mow to Own" program that allows residents can now buy [a] vacant lot for $125 and some sweat equity." The program not only encourages residents to maintain vacant lots, it also brings in revenue through title transfer fees and property taxes. The article includes three more examples of projects by the LRA to help manage and improve the city's vacant properties.
FULL STORY: St. Louis takes new look at old problem: What to do with vacant land and abandoned buildings
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.
St. Louis Groups Come Together to Form Neighborhood Vacancy Coalition
Legal and community groups in St. Louis align to curb ill-effects of the city's many vacant properties.
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.
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.
Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.
A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.
Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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 Clovis
City of Moorpark
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