Our impact spans the landscape of academic fields such as urban planning, policy, law, and public health while also working hand-in-hand to resolve problems with local officials and community leaders in cities across the country. Experts, policymakers and the media have turned to VPR Network’s publications, such as the national literature review on blight for objective analysis and strategic guidance. In Memphis, we helped local officials, nonprofits, and community members create the nation’s first blight charter. Our work in Youngstown, Ohio redefines what strategic code enforcement means for smaller, older industrial legacy cities and expands the contours of this emerging practice. Collectively, our impact grows as our network grows and evolves as the vacant property movement evolves.
As creative responses continue to emerge from pioneering cities—from Cleveland and Detroit to Memphis and Youngstown—the charge for the VPR Network is to facilitate the design and transfer of innovative policies and programs for reclaiming vacant and abandoned properties and for aligning neighborhood revitalization and city-wide regeneration plans and initiatives.