In 2010, you might have read a post on our blog regarding tools available to local governments for dealing with foreclosures. The economic crisis resulted in a record number of foreclosures in North Carolina, leaving vacant properties in its wake. Four options available to local governments to tackl … Read more

In August 2000, The Durham Housing Authority (DHA) in partnership with The Community Builders (TCB) received a $35 million HOPE VI grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to revitalize Few Gardens, a public housing development located in Northeast Durham. The purpose of the … Read more

A court case pitting two unlikely opponents in the effort to provide better housing opportunities for low-income households has captured the attention of state housing finance agencies around the country. At issue in Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. v. Texas Department of Housing and Community Af … Read more

A previous post by Tyler Mulligan explained how local governments can utilize land banks to address vacant, abandoned, and tax foreclosed properties in their community.  This post provides an example of a successful land bank in Genesee County, Michigan – home to the city of Flint – and discusses ke … Read more

If America’s cities and towns are to realize their greatest potential as attractive and welcoming places—and as drivers of the new American economy—they must be able to repurpose their vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties. Those properties—whether the product of the current foreclosure crisis … Read more

Susie Senior, an 80 year-old participant in the Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), begins her day with a home visit from a PACE home care assistant. The assistant helps Susie get dressed, organize medicines, and do some basic shopping and errands within the community. Following th … Read more

An emerging new source of supply for affordable senior housing is the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. These projects not only create much-needed new units of senior housing, but also offer communities a creative solution to their historic buildings, many of which are in dire need of renovation … Read more

Cities suffering from significant population losses are sometimes referred to as “shrinking cities.” Most notably, the City of Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population from 2010 to 2000. When comparing the City’s peak population of 1.8 million in 1950 to today, the population has decreased more … Read more

The School of Government and the Kenan Institute collaborated recently to create a strategic business plan for Kinston Promise Neighborhood, Inc., a nonprofit community collaborative organization modeled after the highly successful Harlem Children’s Zone in New York.  Kinston Promise Neighborhood, I … Read more

Kinston Promise is a comprehensive approach to educating children and strengthening families in the town of Kinston, a mid-size community in eastern North Carolina. An organization, Kinston Promise Neighborhood, Inc., works through existing community-based programs to create a continuum of “cradle-t … Read more