Vacant Property Research Initiative

Funders play an essential role in repurposing vacant properties for productive reuse. The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities recently released a report that provides a comprehensive definition of urban agriculture and outlines several ways in which funders can support this innovative reuse strategy.

Sponsored by the Ridenour Faculty Fellowship Fund, Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs will be hosting a two day conference on Distressed Cities, on April 12-13, 2012, in Blacksburg, VA. The conference will foster a broad, interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of distressed cities and the implications for policy and practice. School faculty, invited guest speakers and master class presentations of selected graduate students will be participating in the round table discussions. The conference is free and open to the public, although RVSP's are being accepted to accommodate lunch. For further information, please refer the flyer or visit the conference blog.

Mendes, Wendy, Kevin Balmer Terra Kaethler, & Amanda Rhoads. (2008). "Using Land Inventories to Plan for Urban Agriculture." Journal of the American Planning Association. 74 (4), 435-450. Abstract: "Problem: Urban agriculture has potential to make cities more socially and ecologically sustainable, but planners have not had effective policy levers to encourage this. Purpose: We aim to learn how to use land inventories to identify city land with the potential for urban agriculture in order to plan for more sustainable communities by answering two questions: Do land inventories enable integration of urban agriculture into planning and policymaking? Do land inventories advance both ecological and social dimensions of local sustainability agendas? Methods: We use case studies of two Pacific Northwest cities (Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia), comparing the municipal land inventories they undertook to identify public lands with potential for urban agriculture. We study how they were initiated and carried out, as well as their respective scopes, scales, and outcomes. Results and conclusions: We find that the Portland inventory both enabled integration of urban agriculture into planning and policymaking and advanced social and ecological sustainability. In Vancouver similar integration was achieved, but the smaller scope of the effort meant it did little for public involvement and social sustainability. Takeaway for practice: Other local governments considering the use of a land inventory should contemplate: (a) using the inventory process itself as a way to increase institutional awareness and political support for urban agriculture; (b) aligning urban agriculture with related sustainability goals; (c) ensuring public involvement by creating participatory mechanisms in the design and implementation of the inventory; (d) drawing on the expertise of institutional partners including universities. Research support: The Centre for Urban Health Initiativ

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Immergluck, Dan. "Neighborhood in the Wake of the Debacle: Intrametropolitan Patterns of Foreclosed Properties." Urban Affairs Review 46,1 (2010): 3-36. A key aspect of the U.S. subprime crisis was the accumulation of vacant, foreclosed properties in many neighborhoods and localities. This article describes zip-code-level patterns of foreclosed homes, or what are typically called "real estate owned" (REO) properties, at the peak of the subprime crisis in late 2008 and estimates a model of REO accumulation from 2006 to 2008. Three key findings emerge. First, during the peak of the subprime foreclosure crisis in late 2008, large central cities, on average, experienced higher levels of REO per mortgageable property than suburban areas. This contradicts some suggestions that the crisis was primarily centered in suburban or exurban communities. Second, the suburbanization of REO varied across two key types of metropolitan areas, with boom-bust regions experiencing more suburbanization than weak- or mixed-market metros. Finally, determinants of zip-code-level REO accumulation included high-risk lending activity and the age of housing stock. After controlling for these and other variables, neither the central city versus suburban location of a zip code nor the proportion of residents commuting over 30 minutes was significantly associated with REO growth. The intrametropolitan location of a zip code appears to have been a less important factor in REO growth than the fact that a large amount of development in newer communities was financed during the subprime boom.

Hollander, Justin B., Colin Polsky, Dan Zinder, and Dan Runfola. "The New American Ghost Towns." Land Lines (2011).

Coulton, Claudia, Michael Schramm, and April Hirsh. "Beyond Reo: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008." Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, 2008. This report examines the trends of extremely distressed properties in Cuyahoga County between 2005- 2008 after being sold out of REO.

Adams, D., De Sousa, C. and S. Tiesdell. 2010. "Brownfield Development: A Comparison of North American and British Approaches." Urban Studies 47(1): 75-104. "Over the past 30-40 years, urban change and deindustrialisation in advanced economies have created a legacy of vacant and derelict land that is increasingly seen as a development opportunity rather than planning problem. This paper investigates how the shared challenge of bringing such brownfield sites back into productive use has been interpreted differently in four countries: the US, Canada, Scotland and England. In each case, the particular policy environment has shaped the brownfield debate in distinctive ways, producing a different set of relations between the public and private sectors in brownfield redevelopment. Through this detailed comparison of the North American and British experience, the paper traces the maturity of policy and seeks to discover whether the main differences in understanding and tackling brownfield land can be attributed primarily to physical, cultural or institutional factors."

Coulton, Claudia, Kristen Mikelbank, and Michael Schramm. "Foreclosure and Beyond: A Report on Ownership and Housing Value Following Sheriff's Sales, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2000-07." Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, 2008. "This study focuses on the cumulative effects of increasing foreclosure rates in Cleveland neighborhoods and suburban municipalities of Cuyahoga County and attempts to answer a number of questions: What entities take ownership of these foreclosed properties and for how long do they hold them? Who purchases these homes next, and how do the sales prices compare to the value of the homes prior to the time they entered the foreclosure process? And have these patterns changed as the number of properties being auctioned at sheriff's sale has skyrocketed?"

Vacant and abandoned properties pose challenges to city prosperity and economic health. However, these lands can be pursued as opportunities for economic and fiscal growth

De Sousa, C., Wu, C. and L. Westphal. 2009. "Assessing the Effect of Publicly Supported Brownfield Redevelopment on Surrounding Property Values." Economic Development Quarterly 23(2): 95-110. Abstract: "This study measures and compares the impact of publicly assisted brownfield redevelopment on nearby residential property values in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. It also examines the influence of land use, neighborhood characteristics, and other redevelopment factors on this impact. The research approach incorporates a hedonic method to quantify nearby property value effects at more than 100 brownfield projects, and stakeholder interviews are used to assess perceived impacts to real estate conditions. The results reveal that the spillover effect in terms of raising surrounding property values is significant in both quantity and geographic scope, as redevelopment led to a net increase of 11.4% in nearby housing prices in Milwaukee and 2.7% in Minneapolis. It also reveals that project size, value, and the amount of public funding have minor impacts on this effect; factors such as proximity to major roads, distance from rail, and higher incomes have greater positive impacts."

Alexander, Frank S. "Land Banks and Land Banking." 1- 120. Washington, D.C.: Center for Community Progress, 2011. This report discusses the evolution of land bank, the potential challenges that the tool faces during implementation, and possible solutions to address these challenges. The report also outlines the process for creating and operating a land bank.

Thomas, Michael R. "A GIS-based decision support system for brownfield redevelopment." Landscape and Urban Planning 58, 1 (2002): 7-23. "To evaluate land use options with respect to brownfields inventory, characterization, and potential for redevelopment, both government and private decision makers need access to information regarding land capability; development incentives; public goals, interests, and preferences; and environmental concerns such as site contamination and environmental quality. This article discusses a decision support system that provides access to state, regional, and local geospatial databases, several informational and visualization tools, and assumptions useful in providing a better understanding of issues, options, and alternatives in redeveloping brownfields. The resultant decision support system is augmented by a unique geographic information systems-based land use modeling application as an integrated expert system." (from abstract)

Immergluck, Dan. "Community Response to the Foreclosure Crisis: Thoughts on Local Interventions." Atlanta: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 2008. This paper describes the basic responses to the foreclosure crisis, including constraints and opportunities faced by the local government and the community as they respond to the crisis.