A previous post by Tyler Mulligan explained how North Carolina local governments can utilize land banks to address vacant, abandoned, and tax foreclosed properties in their community. Additionally, case studies of land banks in Genesee County, Michigan and Fulton County, Georgia highlighted some uni … Read more

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

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

2009 was a record year for foreclosures in North Carolina. Now it looks like 2010 is going to be worse. In the first five months of this year, North Carolina experienced 35% more foreclosure starts as compared to the same period in 2009. (2012 update: a GAO report on vacant homes and foreclosures ca … Read more