Following up on the national literature review of blight in America, a consulting team led by Econsult Solutions, Inc. has produced a user-friendly calculator tool that provides an estimate of the cost of blight at a community level. This calculator tool – which will be available to KAB and its affiliates – can quantify the cost of blight in a particular geography, as well as produce a report that estimates the cost of remediating litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, and vacant/abandoned buildings. The calculator tool will also generate information on other costs imposed on a community by such forms of blight, such as property value loss, crime, and negative health outcomes. This tool can be useful in working with community leaders and others to underscore the importance of dealing with the root causes of blight so as to minimize its cost burden on residents and governments. To look at our report Charting the Multiple Meanings of Blight – A National Literature review on Addressing the Community Impacts of Blighted Properties, click here. Press release: Keep America Beautiful Hosts 2016 National Conference in Orlando; Launches Call-to-Action to “Imagine. Inspire. Transform.” About Keep America Beautiful |