Widespread vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties plague communities of all types and sizes. Whether their impact is felt immediately following a disaster or over time, cities and towns with widespread vacancy often struggle with how to halt the trend and return properties to productive purposes. Today, communities have new choices and strategies to effectively address vacancy.

This session will build a foundation for understanding the factors and triggers connected to VAD properties including:

• The history and significance of VAD properties
• How and in what ways they affect a community’s quality of life
• The conditions, policies and decisions – economic, political and environmental - which contribute to widespread vacancy, including housing market conditions, disasters, and inequitable or unsound public policies.