Product Description
This long overdue book offers communities of all sizes a wide range of tools for reclaiming abandoned properties and returning them to productive use.
The book is unique in that it tackles the entire cycle of abandonment from prevention through taking control of properties to fostering productive reuse.
At each stage, the author offers practical strategies and best practices from cities, community development corporations, neighborhood organizations, and others who have successfully brought abandoned buildings back to life.
In three comprehensive sections you will learn how to:
Prevent abandonment. The best way to deal with abandonment is to prevent it. The author provides insights into why properties are abandoned and offers strategies and programs to keep them in productive use.
Take control of abandoned properties. Successful reuse of an abandoned property requires placing it in the hands of someone willing and able to put it back into productive use. The book explores the legal tools available to take title to properties as well as strategies for minimizing the period between abandonment and reuse, and for maintaining properties before turning them over for redevelopment.
Foster sustainable reuse of abandoned properties. The long-term strength of a community depends not only on abandoned properties being reused but also on making sure that their reuse provides the greatest benefit — socially, economically, and physically — to the community. This section explores the process of developing effective reuse strategies.
In recent years, states have devised new tools to help cities gain control of abandoned properties. And local governments and not-for-profits have crafted new strategies to help owners maintain their properties and keep them in productive use. Bringing Buildings Back will show you how to use these tools to prevent abandonment, take control of properties, and find the best use for them.