Problem Properties Collaborative



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The mission of the Problem Properties Collaborative is to support innovative code enforcement strategies and other neighborhoods revitalization initiatives in Memphis through active and ongoing involvement of community-based organizations to promote and support healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

~ The Problem Properties Collaborative (PPC) developed from conversations with local funders about the increasing number of requests received from community groups to hire staff to focus on dealing with code enforcement violations. The PPC is made up of three community organizations and members from over twenty-five locally based neighborhood and community associations.

~ The focus of the campaign is to make vacant property reclamation and revitalization a top priority for policymakers, practitioners, and community members through the use of coalition building, sharing of best practices, and access to research and technical assistance.

~ The PPC supports implementation of comprehensive and strategic anti-blight and code enforcement initiatives through

o educating and supporting community based organizations to participate fully in a proactive strategy for code enforcement and other anti-blight initiatives;

o providing research support on problem properties, foreclosure, affordable housing, and other issues related to urban blight;

o facilitating discussion and dissemination of best practices through local research and national partnerships such as the National Vacant Properties Campaign;

o and coordinating grassroots support for changes in policies, procedures, ordinances, and statutes that strengthen anti-blight outcomes and implement performance-based accountability systems.

~ Initiatives of the PPC

1. Anti-blight policies such as Receivership legislation that includes pilot studies

2. Community based code enforcement education (10 most common violations pamphlet)

3. Participation in the City’s Code Enforcement Task Force

4. Partnerships with Environmental Court

5. Shaming letters/signs to slum lords

6. Landlord training and monitoring

7. Code Enforcement Data Management System targeting hot spots for crime

8. Rental property registration and inspection ordinance

9. Presence in political forums and activities pushing for neighborhood revitalization strategies

10. Partnerships with funders and mortgage service companies

How are Problem Properties defined?

o Abandoned commercial buildings

o Vacant or neglected properties negatively affecting the public’s health and safety

o Litter/trash on empty lots

o Homes/apartments with housing violations

o Empty retail spaces, half empty strip malls

o Boarded-up homes and homes with criminal activity

o Deserted Industrial sites

• A study in Austin, Texas found that “blocks with unsecured [vacant] buildings had 3.2 times as many drug calls to police, 1.8 times as many theft calls, and twice the number of violent calls” as blocks without vacant buildings.1

• More than 12,000 fires break out in vacant structures each year in the US, resulting in $73 million in property damage annually. Most are the result of arson.2

• Over the past five years, St. Louis has spent $15.5 million, or nearly $100 per household, to demolish vacant buildings. Detroit spends $800,000 per year3 and Philadelphia spends $1,846,745 per year cleaning vacant lots.4

• A 2001 study in Philadelphia found that houses within 150 feet of a vacant or abandoned property experienced a net loss of $7,627 in value.5

1 William Spelman, “Abandoned Buildings: Magnets for Crime?” Journal of Criminal Justice 21.5 (1993): 481.

2 “New Tool Ready to Combat Arson: Vacant and Abandoned Buildings Targeted,” American Re, 16 June 2003

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3 Jodi Wilgoren, “Urban Renewal Without the Renewal,” The New York Times, 7 July 2002.

5 Temple University Center for Public Policy and Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, “Blight Free Philadelphia: A Public-Private Strategy to Create and Enhance Neighborhood Value,” Philadelphia, 2001.

Contact Us:

For more information on anti-blight strategies and agencies in Memphis, please visit the PPC blog at



Please visit the Memphis Community Development Partnership website at or contact Olliette Murray-Drobot at (901) 517-1117 odrobot@ for additional information on PPC membership, presentations, and events.

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