Victory in Vacant Land Coalition

Victory in Vacant Land Coalition
Name	Victory in Vacant Land Coalition
Formation	2014
Type	Nonprofit advocacy coalition
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States
Leaders	Collective steering committee

Victory in Vacant Land Coalition

Victory in Vacant Land Coalition is a U.S.-based nonprofit advocacy coalition formed in 2014 to address vacant and underutilized urban properties through community organizing, policy reform, and land stewardship. The coalition brings together activist networks, municipal agencies, philanthropic foundations, and academic centers to coordinate interventions in postindustrial cities facing foreclosure crises, population decline, and disinvestment. It operates alongside national movements and institutions involved in housing, neighborhood revitalization, and land-use reform.

History

Founded amid the aftermath of the 2007–2008 mortgage crisis and the foreclosure wave that affected cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago, and New Orleans, the coalition arose from collaborations among local groups such as Cleveland Land Lab, Detroit Future City, Southwest Organizing Project, Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, and national organizations including National Low Income Housing Coalition, Enterprise Community Partners, and Housing Justice League. Early convenings featured practitioners from Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and university researchers from University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and University of Pennsylvania who were studying vacant land remediation and land banks exemplified by Genesee County Land Bank and Cuyahoga Land Bank. The coalition’s formative campaigns referenced policy instruments like the Hardest Hit Fund and legal cases involving Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Over its first decade, the coalition expanded through partnerships with municipal offices such as the Detroit Land Bank Authority and nonprofit intermediaries like Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Habitat for Humanity.

Mission and Goals

The coalition’s stated mission is to transform vacant land into community-controlled assets that advance affordable housing, urban agriculture, public green space, and climate resilience in cities affected by deindustrialization and speculative foreclosure. Goal areas include promoting land tenure reforms championed by advocates associated with United States Conference of Mayors, advancing community land trusts inspired by Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and Champlain Housing Trust, and supporting tax-foreclosure reform debates linked to policymakers in Illinois General Assembly, Maryland General Assembly, and Michigan Legislature. The coalition also seeks to influence federal programs such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development initiatives and debates around the Community Reinvestment Act.

Organizational Structure

The coalition operates as a networked hub with a steering committee composed of representatives from grassroots organizations, philanthropic partners, legal aid clinics, and academic research centers. Member organizations include neighborhood nonprofits, municipal land banks, and national groups such as National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Public Interest Law Center. Decision-making uses a consensus-oriented model similar to coalitions like ACORN and Right to the City Alliance, while grant administration has been supported by foundations including MacArthur Foundation and Kresge Foundation. Legal strategies have involved partnerships with public interest firms and clinics from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and University of Chicago Law School.

Major Campaigns and Activities

The coalition’s campaigns have focused on vacant lot stabilization, land banking reforms, tax foreclosure prevention, and community stewardship. Major activities include coordinating mass property inventories akin to efforts by Detroit Future City; piloting urban agriculture projects in coordination with GreenThumb (New York City)-style programs and Growing Power alumni; and litigating or advocating in cases involving predatory lending practices tied to Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch. The coalition has run ballot initiatives and municipal campaigns comparable to those led by Right to the City Alliance and People’s Action, engaged in legislative advocacy around municipal finance with offices like New York City Council committees, and supported capacity-building workshops with partners such as Urban Land Institute and American Planning Association.

Policy Positions and Advocacy

The coalition advocates for policies that expand community land trusts, strengthen land bank statutory powers, reform property tax systems, and prioritize equitable redevelopment over market-led gentrification. It supports federal and state measures to increase funding for land remediation through mechanisms inspired by the Hardest Hit Fund and public financing models used in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs. The coalition has filed amicus briefs and submitted testimony to bodies including U.S. Congress committees and state legislatures, aligning with organizations like National Housing Trust and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on housing affordability and anti-displacement policies.

Notable Achievements and Impact

Achievements attributed to the coalition include contributing to legislative reforms that expanded land bank powers in states such as Ohio and Michigan, supporting the preservation of affordable units through community land trust conversions modeled on Burlington Community Land Trust precedents, and catalyzing neighborhood greening programs in cities like Cleveland and Buffalo. The coalition’s research collaborations with institutions such as University of Pennsylvania School of Design and MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning have produced toolkits used by municipal land banks and nonprofit developers. It has been cited in policy reports by The Brookings Institution and Urban Institute analyses of vacant land strategies.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics draw on cases involving tension between community stewardship and market development, invoking disputes similar to controversies faced by Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and debates over community benefits agreements like those seen in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Some municipal leaders and developers have accused the coalition of impeding private investment or favoring regulatory approaches over catalytic market solutions. Others have questioned reliance on foundation funding associated with Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, echoing broader critiques of philanthropic influence in urban policy debates. Legal challenges involving competing claims to tax-foreclosed parcels have generated litigation in state courts and public debate.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in the United States