Derelict and abandoned housing are a blight in many cities around the world, and their continued presence underlines the difficulties urban officials have in determining the best thing to do with them.  New research from Iowa State University suggests demolishing them could prompt neighboring property owners to take better care of their own homes.

The researchers note that the 2008 recession saw many cities experience a rise in vacant and abandoned properties.  Some cities implemented land bank programs to acquire these vacant properties, which allowed them to patch up and sell some of the properties, or demolish those in the worst state of disrepair.  The research set out to understand what impact these decisions had on neighboring properties.

“Demolition programs have two goals. The first is to get nuisance properties out of neighborhoods because they can be dangerous,” the authors explain. “The second goal is to help stabilize declining neighborhoods.”

Setting the tone

The authors note that past research suggests that demolitions have minimal effect on the property value of neighboring homes, but is the same true for their physical condition?

The researchers tracked changes to houses over time, using things such as whether they had broken or boarded up windows, rubbish in their yard or damage to their roof.  This was then augmented with property condition surveys and administrative records on demolitions in Cleveland.

The analysis found that properties near to those that had been demolished appeared to be most likely to show signs of improvement between the two property condition surveys.  The researchers note that longstanding under-investment in many of these neighborhoods sits alongside clear racial inequities that makes the state of neighborhoods a symptom as much as a cause.

“Community-wide, residents tend to see demolitions as a good idea in specific instances, but they would like larger investments,” the researchers say. “It can’t end with demolitions.”

Nonetheless, the researchers hope that their findings are useful for planners, policymakers, and academics who have an interest in urban development, especially of deprived neighborhoods.