Vacant Property: Strategies for Redevelopment in the Contemporary City

Georgia Institute of Technology, MCRP 2011Vacant properties can be defined as any residential, commercial, or industrial buildings or lots that pose a threat to public safety and thus meet the definition of a public nuisance. The National Vacant Properties Campaign defines vacant property as vacant residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and lots that pose a threat to public safety or that exhibit traits of neglect on the behalf of the property owner. Vacant properties can range from abandoned, boarded-up buildings to unused vacant lots that attract trash and debris. The land use of such properties can range from under-performing commercial properties known as greyfields (such as underleased shopping malls and strip commercial properties) to contaminated industrial properties commonly referred to as brownfields Vacant properties are detrimental to cities and burden communities in a myriad of ways. Fundamentally, they are a costly and wasteful. The resources that compose the properties themselves, including the infrastructure, and in many cases, the abandoned buildings that occupy the lots, put a strain on both the systems and the community that surrounds them