Addressing distressed properties requires local governments to shift how they approach code enforcement—from reactive, siloed, punitive approaches, to approaches that are preventative, holistic, and focused on positive social outcomes. The Innovation Field Lab (IFL) at Harvard’s Kennedy School will share the results of over eight years of work in more than fifteen cities in Massachusetts and New York to develop data-driven, cross-agency approaches to dealing with deteriorated properties. Panelists will share the results of several studies on innovation and cross-agency collaboration, including a project that connected social workers with housing inspectors in Chelsea, Massachusetts and a study using landlord data to predict evictions in Rochester, New York. The session will then feature Buffalo’s Clean Sweep Program, a large-scale program uniting city staff and community partners once a week to perform rapid blight remediation and community outreach. Buffalo’s Director of Citizen Services will present the program’s adaptive solutions, challenges, and influence. A community leader will describe how the program has transformed the different communities it serves. The IFL team will present the study results on if, why, and how the program achieves impact. Attendees will walk away with results of cutting-edge research on revitalizing distressed neighborhoods, practical ideas to adopt in their own cities, and a diagnostic tool that they can use to transform their cities’ approach to preventing or remedying deteriorated properties.