Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2011 that vacant residential units, not including those used seasonally or by migrant workers, increased from 7 million in 2000 to 10 million in 2010. Postal Service, although these are not without limitations. The best aggregate sources include the U.S. The absence of universal definitions of vacancy and abandonment complicates efforts to assess the number of vacant and abandoned properties nationally. For example, in Baltimore, the city building code defines residences as vacant only if they are uninhabitable, not if they are merely unoccupied. 2 Multiple variables can lead authorities to designate a property as either vacant or abandoned, including the physical condition ofĪ structure, the amount of time that a property has been in that particular condition, and the relationship of the owner to the property. In general, a vacant property becomes a problem when the property owner abandons the basic responsibilities of ownership, such as routine maintenance or mortgage and property tax payments. If these properties are well maintained by responsible owners, they will not become eyesores or depress neighboring property values. A property that is for rent or sale can be vacant for a short time, and a vacation home might be vacant for most of the year. Variety of reasons, some of which are relatively benign. Note: Vacant units do not include seasonal, recreational, or occasional uses. American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. Stimulate economic recovery and growth or, in the case of shrinking cities, manage decline in ways that improve quality of life for the remaining residents. Strategies for reuse aim to stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods and may However, tight credit, weak markets, population loss, or other factors may require other solutions suchĪ solar farm on a former industrial site). The most desired outcome is to quickly return a property to its previous use -Īn owner-occupied residence or a thriving business. Local political and economic contexts, as well as limitations of capacity and resources, shape the tools that local governments, nonprofits, and neighbors employ to address and reuse vacant and abandoned properties. The approach taken to reclaim one vacant property among many in a distressed Detroit neighborhood, for example, will be different from that taken to reclaim a property in a rebounding Phoenix suburb - or, for that matter, in another Detroit neighborhood with a healthy housing market. Although nationwide factors (in particular, the foreclosure crisis) helped create these vacancies, local factors - the condition of the properties, the health of the local housing market, and the strength of the regional economy - are what shape the range of options available for returning these properties to productive use. These communities face mounting blight and physical deterioration of properties, declining tax revenues, and rising public costs. Vacant and abandoned properties have long plagued the industrial cities of America’s Rust Belt, but the spike in foreclosures following the recent recession has compounded problems for these areas and has caused vacancy rates to surge nationwide, especially in recently booming Sun Belt states such as Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. To them, empty homes can become assets in neighborhood stabilization and revitalization that can be renovated and reoccupied. Opportunities for productive reuse, reimagining blight and dilapidation as urban farms, community gardens, and health facilities. Property values, and escalating municipal Most visible outward signs of a community’s Photo courtesy: Sara InnamoratoDerelict houses, dormant factories, Vacant lots can be greened and repurposed for new uses, such as this play area in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. It is critical to match strategies for combating vacancy to neighborhood market conditions.The maintenance orĭemolition of vacant properties is a huge expense for many cities. (particularly arson) and declining property values. Vacant and abandoned properties are linked to increased rates of crime.The absence of universal definitions of vacancy and abandonmentĬomplicates efforts to assess the number of vacant and abandoned.Temporary Urbanism: Alternative Approaches to Vacant Land Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Turning Liabilities Into AssetsĬountywide Land Banks Tackle Vacancy and Blight
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