The Atlantic Cities checks into Penn Hills outside of Pittsburgh, where suburban home foreclosures and economic distress have created opportunities in the face of decline.
Helping suburban communities deal with blight and vacant properties is a mission of the University of Pittsburgh’s CONNECT program. Project coordinator Jay Rickabaugh and Associate Director Katherine Risko say the program is designed to help struggling municipalities such as Penn Hills take advantage of tools they don’t necessarily know they have: Code enforcement laws, for example, along with eager students at local universities who can help identify slum landlords and map out properties that need to be torn down urgently.
Original source: The Atlantic Cities
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