Working Paper identifies strategies tailored to cities with weak real estate markets

The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, has released, “Building Equity: Equitable Real Estate Development Strategies for Weak Markets.” This Working Paper identifies strategies that are applicable in predominantly weak real estate markets (aka “legacy cities”) and that can produce novel ways of delivering equity benefits. 

Several strategies profiled in the Working Paper employ situational sensitivity to achieve outcomes that benefit residents of color and/or low-income residents. Other strategies harness anticipated market changes or the use of planning tools to create altogether new real estate markets to benefit underserved populations. The Working Paper also identifies strategies that layer additional equity benefits beyond affordable rents onto Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and other affordable projects.

The fragile real estate markets typically found in legacy cities require context-sensitive strategies that target hyper-local areas rather than blanket one-size-fits-all approaches. Capable actors in American legacy cities are innovating these approaches and demonstrating how the commonly viewed liabilities of legacy city markets—low-value property, and publicly-owned or vacant land—can be turned into equity engines.

The Working Paper can be accessed at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy here.