Technical Assistance
BAM's blight remediation strategy for Thda's blight elimination program
Beginning in the Summer of 2016 the UMDC was contracted by the Blight Authority of Memphis (BAM) for assistance with the development of a blight remediation strategy as part of their application for participation in the Tennessee Housing and Development Agency (THDA)'s Blight Elimination Program (BEP). Within our role, we were eager to participate in an opportunity to build a new partnership and conduct work on an important initiative and being able to positively impact revitalizing Memphis neighborhoods.
The UMDC's role for the Blight Remediation Strategy would be to conduct data collection and analysis; create a prioritization rationale and subsequent methodology from relevant datasets; further develop a prioritized implementation strategy for the remediation of blighted properties.
Our approached revolved around developing a prioritization plan for classifying and ranking blighted properties leading to a phased strategy for the demolition of properties. Within this approach, we worked within specific parameters set forth by THDA for participation in the BEP. These limitations included focusing only on residential properties with 1 to 4 living units for demolition and subsequent greening and future redevelopment. The methodology created for this project can be applied for a variety of blight prioritization techniques and locations.