Mobilize Community and Develop Inventory
Do you see blight in your neighborhood and need to rally your community to help address it? Once you mobilize your community to action, the next step is to identify, assess, and develop an inventory of problem properties.
Do you have an abandoned or vacant property in your community? A critical step is to communicate with private property owners. Visit this page for support on communicating with property owners and encouraging owner responsibility.
Reuse a Property
Do you have an abandoned, vacant or dilapidated property and are unsure how it can be used to improve your neighborhood’s economic viability? Visit this page for support on visioning and ideas for property reuse, as well as referrals for real estate developers.
A brownfield is “real property that is either contaminated or has the perception
of being contaminated.” Visit this page for suggestions on how to handle a
brownfield property.
Do you have an abandoned, vacant or dilapidated property that is a potential safety hazard? Clearing a site that poses a threat can allow for new, useful construction or more greenspace for your community. Visit this page for information and referrals to technical consultants.
Blight negatively impacts communities by increasing infrastructure costs, posing safety hazards, demoralizing communities and slowing local economic development. Prevention is a key step to creating a sustainable, vibrant community. Visit this page for solutions.
Legal tools help local governments convert dilapidated properties to productive use, such as through the building code, citations, liens, eminent domain, and land banks. Visit this page to learn more and to access the legal toolkit.
Develop a Beautification Program
One way to prevent or fight blight is to establish a neighborhood beautification
program. This improves quality of life for everyone in the community.
Do you need to create a map to show specific information about your town? Visit this
page for easily accessible maps and data sources.
Build Your Partnership Network
It’s extremely useful to partner with certain organizations to strengthen your community’s efforts in dealing with blight. Visit this section to expand your network.
For a comprehensive list of all downloadable tools found on this website, visit this page.