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Events > Moving Toward Solutions: Research and Policy on Vacancy and Abandonment

This event was by invitation only. However, presentation materials and best practices will be published online as they become available.

Past Event

Moving Toward Solutions: Research and Policy on Vacancy and Abandonment | Aug. 27, 2008

Hyatt Regency Columbus at the Greater Columbus Convention Center | Columbus, Ohio

Hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia

The seminar highlighted the contributions of recent research to the policy discussion about the causes and impacts of vacancy and abandonment, with a particular emphasis on implications and solutions for weak market cities. Using a micro-lens, several researchers presented recent findings, and discussants offered observations on implications for public policy at the local and regional levels. Questions addressed include: How can understanding pathways to foreclosure and impacts of vacancy in Ohio help shape remedies and solutions? How do regional differences in foreclosure trends and vacant property disposition inform the policy discussion? How can policymakers redefine abandonment as opportunity for redevelopment?

Participants were asked to discuss and develop strategies for leveraging this research into public policy, to ensure that the views and concerns of weak market cities are represented in the national policy discussion. This working seminar was an invitation-only event to be attended by a select group of academic and research-oriented institutions, government officials and other key policy makers.

Presentation Materials

Agenda (PDF)

 

Summary

The toll of the housing crisis is no more evident than in the boarded-up homes and overgrown lots that pock neighborhoods across the country. Dealing with the problem requires careful planning informed by careful research. Toward that end, on August 27 the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland hosted “Moving Toward Solutions: Research and Policy on Vacancy and Abandonment” in Columbus, Ohio. The Cleveland Fed seminar aimed to highlight the contributions of recent research to the policy discussion about the causes and impacts of foreclosure and vacancy, with an emphasis on the implications and solutions for “weak market cities,” defined by Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program as those large and medium-size.

“An evidence-based approach, based on solid research, leads to the best policy,” Mark Schweitzer, senior vice president and director of Research with the Cleveland Fed, said when opening the seminar. “Vacant and abandoned properties is arguably one of the most important issues in community development we’re facing in our district. Research provides the first step in understanding the issue. Once you have an in-depth understanding of an issue, that’s when you can develop effective policy.”

Research presented at the seminar tended to fall into one of three categories, as summarized by discussant Christopher Walker, director of research and assessment at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). First, there are research activities tied to market diagnosis—explaining the patterns in loan performance and their policy implications. Second, there is research that provides directly actionable information, such as identifying specific properties and areas to be addressed, and where precisely to direct financial support. Third, there are impact studies that analyze the degree to which foreclosures and abandoned properties can affect other properties and development in their neighborhoods and beyond. [Read more (PDF).]

 

Understanding Pathways to Foreclosure and Impacts of Vacancy

Pathways to Foreclosure: A Longitudinal Study of Mortgage Loans (PDF)
Claudia Coulton, Case Western Reserve University, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development

Emerging Threats to Community Stability: A Spatial Hedonic Model (PDF)
Brian Mikelbank, Visiting Scholar, FRBC and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University

 

Regional Differences in Foreclosure Trends and Vacant Property Disposition

Incentives for Redevelopment of Vacant Land: A Cleveland and Detroit Comparison (PDF)
Margaret Dewar, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Foreclosures and Neighborhood Impacts in New Jersey (PDF)
Kathe Newman, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University

 

Redefining Abandonment as an Opportunity for Redevelopment

Seizing City Assets: Setting an Agenda for Urban Land Reform (PDF)
Paul Brophy, Principal, Brophy & Reilly LLC; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings

Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Policy (PDF)
Michael A. Pagano, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago

 

General Discussion on Leveraging Research into Public Policy

Ruth Clevenger, vice president and Community Affairs officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, asked whether the “underlying assumption that homeownership is the cornerstone of wealth creation” needs to be revisited. In all, Clevenger described the seminar as part of the Fed’s ongoing outreach and information-gathering efforts as it tackles problems in the housing and credit markets.

Some other key themes that participants raised during the discussions:

  • Problems with vacant and abandoned properties are almost always inextricably linked with the current credit crisis. Research that fails to acknowledge this component may fall short.
  • Research helps local community development leaders gain an important sense of perspective in dealing with the problem. Some solutions may be more easily identified from a bird’s-eye view.
  • Small cities often lack resources, such as nearby research universities, to assist in everything from data collection to policy formulation.
  • Lack of uniformity among records systems makes comparing data across municipalities difficult.
  • There is a need among researchers for more data for analysis. A useful step was the 2005 inclusion of high-cost loan information in HMDA data; more such “opening up” of data sources should occur.
  • An interdisciplinary approach to research on this issue is critical. Work that doesn’t cross several academic fields—from economics to political science to sociology—may not fully capture causes and effects of the vacant and abandoned property problem.

Along with interdisciplinary research, moderator Joe Schilling, professor in practice at the Metropolitan Institute, Virginia Tech, and head of the National Vacant Properties Campaign, noted the need for broad partnerships to address vacant and abandoned properties. Multiple agencies are involved at one level or another with the problem. Linking them together so that none work in isolation may be crucial in achieving an effective response.

 

These materials and additional information can also be accessed through the Federal Reseve Bank of Cleveland's web site.