Resources for Community Organizations

Resources for Local Community Development Organizations

This web site is rich with useful resources that benefit those interested in effectuating community development in their communities:

• For an overview as to strategies being used by other communities to improve their economic and social circumstances, from the perspective of distressed properties as the raw material for such endeavors, we recommend you start with Community Development Strategies, Smart Growth from Abandoned Properties
• A summary of federal housing assistance programs as of August 2007 is provided in this PDF download, from the National Coalition for the Homeless
• To learn the advantages of renovating existing properties, as opposed to tearing them down and building new, please see Advantages of Renovations versus New Construction.
• The Genesee County Land Bank is an example of a successful initiative (in Michigan) that manages properties acquired by foreclosure (or otherwise comes to be owned by the government), and applies specific protocols to return those properties to the tax roll, often improving them in the process.
• To learn of legal options that New Jersey municipalities have to expedite community development by reducing the number of board-ups and abandoned properties, see The Abandoned Properties Act and The Jones Act .
• The Mayor's Resource Guide to Vacant and Abandoned Properties is a report (12 pages, 284k PDF) by the National Housing Institute for the United States Conference of Mayors. It explores strategies to restore the abandoned properties in your community to productive use. It focuses on the pivotal role a Mayor can play in reducing abandoned properties.
• Urban Blight: An Analysis of State Blight Statutes and Their Implications for Eminent Domain Reform. This reviews blight statutes in all 50-states, tracing the origin of blight legislation, analyzing the statutes, and extracting commonalities and distinctions between them. The report also summarizes blight law in America. This 57 page ((864 k) PDF document was published in October 2007 by the National Association of Realtors.
• Combating Problems of Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Best Practices in 27 Cities This publication compiles information provided by mayors around the country about their approaches to realizing the potential of vacant and abandoned properties in their cities. The summaries describe the mayors' leadership, activities partnerships, challenges, and accomplishments. This 50 page report (196 k) was published by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June 2006
• The Housing Assistance Council seeks to improve housing conditions for the rural poor, with an emphasis on the poorest of the poor in the most rural places in the United States. It offers services to public, nonprofit, and private organizations throughout the rural United States.
• The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated to ending America's affordable housing crisis. They offer a variety of resources and data at their web site
• To see how Cherokee is an agent for change in your community, please see Cherokee's Community Development.
• You can help your community by inviting us to investigate properties that you believe would be viable renovation candidates by Tell Us About Abandoned Properties in Your Community