Government Well-Being
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Community Civic Spaces, Public Parks, and Public Spaces
Urban parks are all too often overlooked or taken for granted as opportunities for cities, towns and regions to enhance the value of their unique and irreplaceable resources, which set them apart as places where people love to live. In truth, investing in parks as community assets is an important economic development strategy that will help a city or town stay competitive in the 21st Century.
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Land Banks and Trusts: Sustainable Abandoned and Vacant Property Management
A land bank is a public authority created to efficiently hold, manage and
develop tax-foreclosed property. Land banks act as a legal and financial mechanism to
transform vacant, abandoned and tax-foreclosed property back to productive use.
Generally, land banks are funded by local governments' budgets or the management
and disposition of tax-foreclosed property. In addition, a land bank is a powerful locational
incentive, which encourages redevelopment in older communities that generally
have little available land and neighborhoods that have been blighted by an
out-migration of residents and businesses. While a land bank provides short-term fiscal benefits, it
can also act as a tool for planning long-term community development. Successful
land bank programs revitalize blighted neighborhoods and direct reinvestment
back into these neighborhoods to support their long-term community vision.
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Brownfield Redevelopment and Contaminated Land Re-Use Strategies
When owners or developers clean up brownfields and put them to new uses, many people benefit. Cleanups address environmental problems. Redevelopment can bring new jobs and higher tax revenues. Revitalized brownfield can breathe new life into neighborhoods. Brownfields offer opportunities that go beyond their old uses. Developers have transformed brownfields into everything from golf courses and driving ranges to mixed developments with housing, offices, shopping, and open space. Smaller properties have found new life as bakeries and greenhouses. In short, many uses may be open to a clean site.
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