Vacant Property Research Initiative

Wiechmann, Thorsten (2008). Errors Expected - Aligning Urban Strategy with Demographic Uncertainty in Shrinking Cities. International Planning Studies, 13(4), 431-446. Abstract: "At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of Europe's cities experienced a population decrease. Dealing with the results of demographic, economic and physical contraction processes and planning for the future of considerably smaller but nevertheless livable cities presents some of the most challenging tasks for urban Europe in the near future. This article highlights the example of Dresden in Eastern Germany, where the breakdown of the state-directed economy caused economic decline, industrial regression, and high unemployment rates. Due to out migration and decreasing birth rates, the city lost 60,000 of its 500,000 residents within one decade. As a consequence, there were housing and office vacancies as well as infrastructure oversupplies. Yet the administrative system was still directed towards growth objectives throughout the 1990s. Only after 2000 this situation changed dramatically. The new strategic plan for Dresden is no longer growth oriented. Instead, it focuses on a model of the compact 'European city', with an attractive urban centre, reduced land consumption, and a stable population. However, in another unexpected turn of events, within the last seven years the city has experienced an unexpected growth of 25,000 residents. Surprisingly, processes of suburbanization have turned into processes of reurbanization. Today in Dresden, areas of shrinkage and decline are in close proximity to prospering and wealthy communities. The strategic challenge is to deal with this patchwork while accepting that the future remains unpredictable. Hence, strategic flexibility becomes more important than the strategy itself. To a certain extent rational analysis and error prevention is displaced by preparedness, robustness, and resilience as key qualifications of planning in shrinking c

Rosenthal, Stuart S. 2008. "Old homes, externalities, and poor neighborhoods. A model of urban decline and renewal". Journal of Urban Economics. 63 (3): 816. Abstract: "This paper investigates urban decline and renewal in the United States using three panels that follow neighborhoods on a geographically consistent basis over extended periods of time. Findings indicate that change in neighborhood economic status is common, averaging roughly 13 percent per decade; roughly two-thirds of neighborhoods studied in 1950 were of quite different economic status fifty years later. Panel unit root tests for 35 MSAs indicate that neighborhood economic status is a stationary process, consistent with long-running cycles of decline and renewal. In Philadelphia County, a complete cycle appears to last up to 100 years. Aging housing stocks and redevelopment contribute to these patterns, as do local externalities associated with social interactions. Lower-income neighborhoods appear to be especially sensitive to the presence of individuals that provide social capital. Many of the factors that drive change at the local level have large and policy relevant effects."

Vey, Jennifer S. 2007. "Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial cities." Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Summary: "Across the country, cities today are becoming more attractive to certain segments of society. Meanwhile, economic trends-globalization, the demand for educated workers, the increasing role of universities-are providing cities with an unprecedented chance to capitalize upon their economic advantages and regain their competitive edge. Many cities have exploited these assets to their advantage; the moment is ripe for older industrial cities to follow suit. But to do so, these cities need thoughtful and broad-based approaches to foster prosperity. "Restoring Prosperity" aims to mobilize governors and legislative leaders, as well as local constituencies, behind an asset-oriented agenda for reinvigorating the market in the nation's older industrial cities. The report begins with identifications and descriptions of these cities-and the economic, demographic, and policy "drivers" behind their current condition-then makes a case for why the moment is ripe for advancing urban reform, and offers a five-part agenda and organizing plan to achieve it."

Hudnut, William H. 1998. Cities on the rebound: A Vision of urban America. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute. Summary: "In Cities on the Rebound, Hudnut draws on his past experience as mayor of Indianapolis to describe his vision for dealing with diversity, encouraging sustainable development, finding alternatives to sprawl, managing technological change, regional collaboration, improving government efficiency, and more."

Beauregard, R. (2003). "Aberrant Cities: Urban Population Loss in the United States, 1820-1930." Urban Geography. 24 (8), 672-690. Abstract: "Our understanding of population loss from U.S. cities draws primarily from the fate of industrial centers in the decades following World War II. Quite numerous, those cities cast off residents at unprecedented and sustained rates. Prior to this time, few large cities had ended a decade smaller in population size than they began. In order to broaden and deepen our knowledge of why some cities and not others lose population, this paper analyzes cities that shed population in the 19th century. Using Census data and capsule stories developed from city biographies, the paper explores both contextuating and precipitating factors. These findings subsequently become the basis for reflecting anew on urban decline since the mid-20th century."

Bontje, M. (2004). "Facing the challenge of shrinking cities in East Germany: The case of Leipzig." GeoJournal. 61, 13-21. Abstract: "In the early 20th century, the East German city of Leipzig seemed well on its way to become a metropolis of international importance. The city was expected to grow towards over one million inhabitants in 2000. Seventy years later, Leipzig's population has shrunk to less than 500,000 inhabitants instead. The German partition after World War II took away most of its national administrative and economic functions and much of its hinterland. The socialist GDR regime worsened the long-term development perspectives and living circumstances of the city. The German reunification brought new development chances, but like most East German cities, Leipzig's hopes soon became disappointed. The local politicians faced a difficult redevelopment task: apart from the question how to revive the local and regional economy, they also had to deal with a housing vacancy rate of 20%, a huge need for renovation in the older neighbourhoods as well as in the socialist high-rise areas, the negative effects of urban sprawl on the city core, and various environmental pollution problems. After briefly describing the development path of Leipzig until the 1990s, the paper will discuss the current attempts of the city government to give Leipzig a more positive post-industrial future. On the one hand, Leipzig is developing a strategy to 'downsize' the city's built environment and infrastructure to adapt to a probably lastingly smaller population. On the other hand, many growth instruments well known from the international scientific and political debate are tried to put Leipzig back on the (inter)national map. The paper will discuss these development strategies in the light of the international debate on the question 'how to fight the shrinking city', with specific attention for post-socialist cities."

Gasser, W. (1979). "The Southeast Land Bank." Journal of the American Planning Association. 45 (4), 532-537. Abstract: "The Southeast Land Bank of Baltimore is a community-controlled urban redevelopment corporation created to act as a holding company and broker for recycling neighborhood property. Three approaches were used to protect Upper Fell's Point from speculative pressures and neighborhood blight caused by a proposed road realignment. The Land Bank engaged in acquisition, holding, rehabilitation advice, and marketing of vacant houses in good condition, vacant and dilapidated houses, and absentee-owner, occupied houses that needed complete renovation. Despite the administrative and financial difficulties the Bank faced in its first eighteen months of operation, its experience provides valuable lessons for other community organizations interested in taking an active role in their neighborhoods' revitalization."

Griswold, Nigel G., and Patricia E. Norris (2007). "Economic Impacts of Residential Property Abandonment and the Genesee County Land Bank in Flint, Michigan." The MSU Land Policy Institute. Available at http://www.smartgrowth.umd.edu/pdf/BestThesisAward2007PDF.pdf Summary: "This study documents work by the Genesee County Land Bank (GCLB) to alleviate the burden of abandoned and tax-foreclosed properties in the City of Flint, Michigan. The costs of property abandonment and direct and indirect effects of GCLB programs are estimated. Results suggest that abandoned housing does indeed have a negative impact on the values of houses in close proximity and that GCLB programs ameliorate these negative impacts."

Kühn, Manfred & Heike Liebmann (2007). "Strategies for Urban Regeneration - The Transformation of Cities in Northern England and Eastern Germany." Restructuring Eastern Germany. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/g273215603gtg568/

Been , Vicki and Voicu, Ioan, "The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values" (2006). New York University Law and Economics Working Papers. Paper 46. http://lsr.nellco.org/nyu_lewp/46 DRAFT PAPER - PLEASE DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION Abstract: "Cities across the United States increasingly are debating the best way to use vacant "infill" lots. The community garden movement is one of the major contenders for the space, as are advocates for small public "pocket" parks and other green spaces. To allocate the land most efficiently and fairly, local governments need sound research about the value of such gardens and parks to their host communities. At the same time, cities are looking for new ways of financing the development and maintenance of public garden and park space. Some have turned to tax increment financing to generate resources, other are introducing impact fees or special assessments to cover the costs of urban parks. In order to employ such financing mechanisms, both policy concerns and legal constraints require local governments to base their charges on sound data about the impacts green spaces have on the value of the neighboring properties that would be forced to bear the incidence of the tax or fee. Despite the clear public policy need for such data, our knowledge about the impacts community gardens and other such spaces have on surrounding neighborhoods is quite limited. No studies have focused specifically on community gardens, and those that have examined the property value impacts of parks and other open space are cross-sectional studies inattentive to when the park opened, so that it is impossible to determine the direction of the causality of any property value differences found. The existing literature also has paid insufficient attention to qualitative differences among the parks studied and to differences in characteristics of the surrounding neighborhoods that might affect the parks' impacts

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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Robinson and Cole, 2007. "URBAN BLIGHT - An Analysis of State Blight Statutes and Their Implications for Eminent Domain Reform," REALTOR, October 2007. Available at: http://www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb.nsf/pages/NARBlight.html/$file/blight_study_revised.pdf

Brophy, Paul and Vey, Jennifer, 2002. "Seizing City Assets: Ten Steps to Urban Land Reform," The Brookings Institution, October 2002. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2002/10metropolitanpolicy_brophy/brophyveyvacantsteps.pdf Introduction: "One of a city's greatest assets is its available land for development. Unfortunately, many cities have land and properties that are vacant, abandoned, or under-used, with few policies and regulations in place to convert these assets into valuable, revenue-generating sites. This brief outlines ten action steps that state and local governments can follow to facilitate the development of urban land and buildings. Compiling an inventory of vacant parcels, planning for the assembly and reuse of land, and working to eliminate the many legal and administrative barriers to acquisition and development are just some of the actions the authors recommend for creating a more transparent, efficient, and effective system for private-market land development. The brief will discuss these and other proposed steps, and will highlight examples of successful practices implemented in states and localities throughout the U.S."

Virginia Local Initiatives Support Cooperation, "The Ripple Effect: Economic Impacts of Targeted Community Investments." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. (2005) http://go.clientapp.com/vacantproperties/production/resources/ppts/Ripple%20Effect.pdf Abstract: "This publication illustrates how to create neighborhoods of choice and opportunity, when resources are limited and maximum results are desired. It summarizes the results of a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond study, examining the Neighborhoods in Bloom program in Richmond. Only five years after the program was initiated, the study reports some significant economic impacts of the policy, including increased home values. By targeting public and foundation resources to specific distressed neighborhoods, Richmond was able to attract the much-needed market capital. This targeted strategy premised on process, political will, and partnerships, enabled Richmond to transform some of its most disinvested neighborhoods."

Accordino, John, George Galster, and Peter Tatian. "The Impact of Targeted Public and Nonprofit Development on Neighborhood Development: Research based on Richmond, Virginia's Neighborhoods in Bloom Program," Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, July 2005. This report examines Richmond, Virginia's Neighborhoods in Bloom program to assess the impacts of the targeted investment strategy that was used to revitalize the city.

Leigh, Nancey Greene, 2003. "The State Role In Urban Land Redevelopment," The Brookings Institution, April 2003. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2003/04metropolitanpolicy_leigh/leighvacant.pdf

Beauregard, Robert A. 2003. Voices of decline: The Postwar fate of U.S. cities. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. "Freely crossing disciplinary boundaries, this book uses the words of those who witnessed the cities' distress to portray the postwar discourse on urban decline in the United States. Up-dated and substantially re-written in stronger historical terms, this new edition explores how public debates about the fate of cities drew from and contributed to the choices made by households, investors, and governments as they created and negotiated America's changing urban landscape."

Keating, W. Dennis and Thomas Bier (2008). "Greater Cleveland's First Suburbs Consortium: Fighting Sprawl and Suburban Decline." Housing Policy Debate. 19(3), 457-477. Abstract: "This article addresses the problems of older suburbs bordering central cities; these suburbs are now experiencing many of the same symptoms of decline as the central cities themselves. We analyze this issue by recounting the experience of the inner (or first) suburbs of Cleveland and the First Suburbs Consortium (FSC), which was formed in 1997 to counteract sprawl in the metropolitan region. We analyze the impact of FSC both on its suburban members and also on state policies affecting older suburbs. FSC can point to several programs that it has developed to improve housing and commercial development among its 16 members. It also has joined with other similar Ohio suburbs to advocate and to lobby for changes in state policies (so far unsuccessfully) to provide more assistance to older suburbs. Nevertheless, FSC has been recognized as a national role model."

Leigh, Nancey Green, and Sarah L. Coffin (2005). "Modeling the Relationship among Brownfields, Property Values, and community Revitalization. Housing Policy Debate." 16(2), 257-280. Abstract: "The main focus in redeveloping brownfields is on the most marketable properties, typically found in the healthiest urban neighborhoods. As evidenced by the rapid redevelopment that many communities are experiencing, this approach is helping to return brownfields to productive use. Yet not all brownfields are being cleaned up, nor are there enough resources to do so soon. Thus, from the perspective of community revitalization and of economic justice, we need to ask whether it matters which properties in which neighborhoods are receiving these scarce funds. That is, does the existence of brownfields in a neighborhood affect residential property values and capacity for revitalization? To answer these questions, we use hedonic modeling to determine the impact of brownfields on property values in Atlanta and Cleveland. Our results suggest that short‐term economic efficiency is neither the most appropriate nor the only criterion on which to base public investment decisions for remediation."