Center for Community Progress

Now available for free online! The Road Ahead for Land Banks dives into how land banks across the U.S. are turning vacant properties into real community assets. Curious about how they're addressing housing needs, advancing equity, and fostering local leadership? Download this new resource and explore inspiring examples that show what’s possible for communities. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gE2cwB8r

Creative placemaking is the practice of enhancing a neighborhood’s quality of life through arts, culture, and intentional community development to meet the vision of the people who live, work, and play there. This practice takes various forms, including but not limited to temporary visual art installations, performance events, and permanent brick-and-mortar spaces. This report details the three common core roadblocks communities pursuing creative placemaking encounter, highlights case studies of places with facilitative policies, and offers scalable recommendations for overcoming these roadblocks. While every local government must consider their unique community context and state-level regulations, this report provides applicable takeaways for communities of all sizes and situations. To read more click here: https://lnkd.in/gFNpA_Pz

We are filled with gratitude after an incredible week at the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference in St. Louis! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us—attendees, speakers, and partners alike—for making this gathering such a success. Together, we explored innovative ways to transform vacant properties into vibrant community assets, with inspiring sessions, impactful mobile workshops, and powerful conversations around equity and justice. Special thanks to the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County for being such welcoming hosts and for showcasing the amazing work happening across the region. We are leaving this conference energized and committed to continuing our shared mission of building strong, healthy, and just communities. Until next time, let’s keep working together to create lasting change!

Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day.

We asked the sponsors of #RVP2024 to share their insights on the role of philanthropy in community revitalization ahead of this week's conference in St. Louis. Thank you to JPMorganChase, Missouri Foundation for Health , and Wells Fargo Foundation for your expertise and support! https://lnkd.in/g9rENUHY

Happening TODAY! Center for Community Progress is hosting The Neighborhood Revitalization and Land Banking Act. There is still time to sign up.

LAST CHANCE! Registration for the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference closes on September 30, so don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with fellow leaders in community revitalization. Where else will you find out about innovative strategies to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties? Whether you're an expert or new to the field, you’ll learn something at RVP, network, and get practical tools to help your community. https://lnkd.in/e3cp6_EY

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are more than 450,000 brownfields across the United States. And the presence or potential presence of a hazardous chemical or pollutants at brownfield properties (or “brownfields”) make them challenging, risky, and costly to redevelop. While many people think of brownfields as large, abandoned factories or chemical processing plants, the true scope of brownfield properties is more expansive. Brownfields include abandoned gas stations, automotive repair facilities, dry cleaners, farms where pesticides were used, and residential structures built using lead or asbestos-containing materials. And land banks are well suited to hold properties, apply for assessment and remediation funding, and leverage technical resources and community input to return brownfield properties to productive use. The starting point of any brownfield remediation and reuse strategy is planning. This includes conducting a brownfield inventory, identifying stakeholders, engaging residents, prioritizing sites for reuse, and beginning to develop a vision for what the community needs—and how a site fits into it. The path to reuse varies from project to project, but most projects follow similar steps. Check out new resources from Community Progress that break down the steps of brownfield remediation and reuse.

There’s still time to register and engage in this interactive, hands-on session!  Register now and secure your spot!

Celebrating one year of leadership with our amazing President & CEO, Kat J. Guillaume- Delemar! In this special interview, Kat reflects on her journey with Community Progress, sharing personal insights that have shaped her leadership, key milestones like the Developers of Color initiative, and the Neighborhood Revitalization and Land Banking Act. As we look to the future, she speaks on our commitment to advancing racial equity and inclusion, and her inspiring vision for how we continue tackling vacancy and revitalizing communities. Watch now to hear her message to the communities we serve!