The Empty House Next Door

A condensed version of this report is available as a Policy Brief.

“Alan Mallach is the sage of the national vacant properties movement. There is no one better qualified to tell the story of vacant property trends, impacts, and strategies through data and model practices. He patiently explains the underlying drivers, data points, and strategies in a concise and insightful manner that is accessible to practitioners and policy makers. Empty House Next Door strikes a good balance between its accessibility to these prime audiences and its relevance for those of us who straddle the areas of practice and applied policy research.”

— Joseph Schilling, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute

Renowned city planner and housing advocate Alan Mallach presents effective strategies for community leaders, local officials, and nonprofits contending with vacant properties in the United States. Examples illustrate creative ways to reduce the harm caused by vacant properties, jump-start housing markets in struggling neighborhoods, create the potential for future revival, and transform vacant properties into community assets.

About the Author

Alan Mallach is a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress and a visiting professor at the Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment. He is the author of The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America, co-author of the 2013 Policy Focus Report, Regenerating America’s Legacy Cities, and editor of the 2012 book Rebuilding America’s Legacy Cities: New Directions for the Industrial Heartland.