In February we posted on a Citizens Research Council of Michigan (not-for-profit public affairs research organization, founded in 1916) report titled, “Coordinating the Authority and Resources to Remediate Blight”.
This organization has several additional blight resources available.
March 2023 Taking a Closer Look at Blight Foreclosure in New Orleans
- A change in Louisiana state law to provide for the super-priority of remediation liens allowed New Orleans’ to remediate thousands of blighted properties after Hurricane Katrina.
- The blight status of many properties was the result of a policy decision that awarded higher rebuilding grant amounts to White homeowners than Black homeowners.
- New research raises important equity concerns that should be considered if Michigan were to provide for the super-priority status of remediation liens.
October 2022 Shifting Focus – Blight Management for Economic Stability
- Blight is used to describe the economic and social disease brought to communities by properties that are in disrepair and/or neglected and abandoned. How we define blight is impacted by our motivations for managing blight, which can range from public health reasons to economic development reasons.
- Blight can exist in urban, suburban, and rural communities. It is a local problem and the tools and funding needed for blight remediation will be unique to each community.
- While we are still learning how to manage and remediate blight throughout the state, we know that the state needs to provide local policymakers with multiple policy and financial tools to address it. We also need to keep our motivation for managing blight on economic stability for the entire community.
December 2021 Blight in Michigan: Not Just a Big-City Problem
- Blight is a problem in communities throughout Michigan, but it is a complex issue that can be difficult to quantify and address as it is locally subjective and experienced differently in urban and rural communities.
- State law provides some tools for local governments to remediate blight, but they need to be flexible enough to meet unique local needs. Also, many of the communities that struggle with blight are more fiscally challenged so finding the revenue to address blight can be a major issue.
- Blight remediation and prevention is ongoing. Some communities are trying to actively rid themselves of blighted properties while others are using economic development tools to prevent blight.