Towards Equitable Land Banking

Land banks are quasi-governmental not-for-profit organizations that acquire, manage, and dispose of abandoned, vacant, foreclosed, and tax-delinquent properties. Local governments view land banks as an improvement to the municipal management of foreclosed property in declining cities and a tool to provide community programs that support social equity. However, land banks have been criticized for wielding too much power, concentrating demolitions in poor and minority neighborhoods, and having unfortunate parallels to the flawed, top-down policies of mid-century urban renewal. Examining land banks through a lens of social equity, this research explores the question, 'To what extent do land banks promote the well-being of those with the least.' Interviews with land-bank leaders, property acquisition and disposition data and spatial analyses are used to create comparative case study of four land banks in New York state communities. While land-bank leaders show an awareness and desire to address historic inequities in marginalized communities, social equity is generally viewed as a secondary goal to their tax-base generation and "blight" removal missions. Stable funding sources to ensure more staff resources, greater community engagement efforts, more partnerships with community-based non-profits, and alternative approaches to demolition would ensure a more socially just land-banking policy.