New Data on Local Vacant Property Registration Ordinances

Yun Sang Lee
Patrick Terranova
Dan Immergluck
Georgia Institute of Technology

Data Shop
Data Shop, a department of Cityscape, presents short articles or notes on the uses of data in housing and urban research. Through this department, the Office of Policy Development and Research introduces readers to new and overlooked data sources and to improved techniques in using well-known data. The emphasis is on sources and methods that analysts can use in their own work. Researchers often run into knotty data problems involving data interpretation or manipulation that must be solved before a project can proceed, but they seldom get to focus in detail on the solutions to such problems. If you have an idea for an applied, data-centric note of no more than 3,000 words, please send a one-paragraph abstract to david.a.vandenbroucke@hud.gov for consideration.

This article describes the Vacant Property Registration Ordinance Database, a new database of local vacant property registration ordinances (VPROs) in the United States. Beginning with an industry list, 550 ordinances were acquired, read, and coded on more than 30 characteristics. VPROs grew dramatically in 2008 and 2009, during the climax of the national foreclosure crisis, and the number of ordinances continued to grow after 2009, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. The database provides details on the coverage, requirements, and penalties specified in VPROs across the country.