As a person who thoroughly enjoys an architectural salvage shop or antique store, there are times I become more interested in shopping someone’s storage than the property I’m supposed to be buying. We’ve all now admitted we have these...
We don’t often give credit to how much appearances affect us and shape our opinions. We judge nearly everything based on looks. We see the way people dress and groom themselves and it leads us to conclusions about those...
This is Part 2 from Sarah Cipkar and details the way citizens can push for better policies to stop the deterioration of vacant buildings and can hopefully prevent their demolition through collective action. Windsor: The Backstory Windsor is an...
Vacant property kills communities. Vacant and deteriorating property increases crime, depresses property values, diminishes the tax base, lowers community self-esteem, repels potential tenants, investors and tourists and breeds rampant apathy. There is absolutely no reason a community should ever...
In the heart of our downtown, on the corner of the busiest intersection, is a vacant building with a large penis carved into the inches-thick dust caked onto its windows. I don't know what the building was at the...
My town has responded gracefully to vacancies on Main Street. The local BID, an artists’ collective led by a local gallery owner and downtown property owners have filled most vacant storefronts with art. Walking down Bloomfield Ave. in the...
The urban problem of blight is seemingly large and nebulous, with complex causes and solutions. The word ‘blight’ actually comes from the botanical field to describe plant disease, typically one caused by fungi. It's been adopted into urban environments...
There’s a sense of despair with vacant properties. We stare at them when they first wind up empty. Hoping someone comes along. Daydreaming of what it might be. As time goes on we find ourselves ignoring more and daydreaming...
I can sometimes get bogged down in the policies of vacancy. I get pretty excited about design standards, code enforcement and vacant property registries. I love reading about new methods people use internationally to combat empty property. While policy...
There are two sides to economic revitalization and they must work in tandem to create change in a community. The first is the economic side. This is about training people to fill the roles we so desperately lack in...
