What's in a Vacant Lot
Data Dashboard and Development Risk Assessment for Vacant Lots in Philadelphia
A project from the Weitzman School of Design Smart Cities Practicum
in collaboration with Philadelphia Legal Assistance
When an owner abandons a property and stops paying taxes, the City of Philadelphia can initiate a foreclosure to sell the property through a public auction known as a sheriff's sale.
Increased activity in the Philadelphia real estate market in the past decade is likely a major driver of the rising interest in vacant land. To visualize this growth, we can look to where developers are filing zoning permit applications. Because real estate developers will often apply for zoning permits early in the planning and financing stage, these applications can serve as a leading indicator of future development.
A visualization of zoning permit applications over the last 15 years demonstrates how interest in the Philadelphia real estate market has intensified. As development interest has increased, so too has the value of vacant land, making parcels that previously may have been overlooked by the market more viable for new development. Tax foreclosures and sheriff sales are thus a natural response to this increased interest and can help to restore vacant and underused land to productive use—that is, for properties which are not already being used by the surrounding community.
