Recently the Data Collaborative (a collaborative of four housing-related intermediary organizations — RHLS, the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, and Philadelphia LISC — along with The Reinvestment Fund) released the preliminary results of a study on Philadelphia’s targeted blight enforcement activities.
Using tools from Act 90 and the local “windows and doors” ordinance the City of Philadelphia’s Licenses and Inspections Department engaged in a data-driven targeted enforcement effort over the last several years. The Data Collaborative reviewed the enforcement strategy and the results in order to determine the efficacy of the new blight-remediation tools.
In areas where there was targeted enforcement, there was an average increase in home sale price of 31% (versus 1% in comparable areas)! The targeted areas had about the same level of tax delinquency during the same period, but tax delinquency in the comparable areas increased. TRF estimated that the enforcement action helped to increase surrounding property sales prices by as much as $74M, which would translate into more than $2M more in transfer tax revenue for the City.
- Read the Executive Summary
- Read recent media coverage
-
TRF: Blight enforcement increases home values (Philadelphia Inquirer – 2/14/14)
- Study: Anti-blight initiative seems to be working (Philadelphia Daily News – 2/14/14)
- City blight unit lauded, decimated (Plan Philly – 2/10/14)
-