April 24, 2007
Vacant Richmond
Richmond blog Buttermilk & Molasses writes on the motivation behind, and the bells and whistles available on, Vacant Richmond, a new website that allows one toÔø?identify and discuss vacant properties in the Richmond area.
From the article:
Vacant Richmond takes the several thousand properties on the City of Richmond’s own vacant property list [scroll to bottom of page] and plops them neatly onto a nice Google-generated map — complete with the property owner’s name, and City Council and police contacts for the district…
The site was developed by PharrOut and Farrell IT after a series of meetings with several local bloggers sparked by several high profile fires of vacant buildings in Richmond…
From Vacant Richmond’s press release (according to the article):
At a recent neighborhood meeting, Police Chief Rodney Monroe made it clear that a key component of action in blight cases was to present to a judge public comments and pictures in cases in which a judge may then render a decision against the offending owner. He challenged the community to become more involved in tackling this issue, and this web site helps engage that challenge.
In view of the number of vacant properties here in Petersburg, such a project may be equally worth pursuing this side of the Appomattox.
This site, like the crime maps for Richmond, is built on data released by the city. Does the Petersburg government have the data, and if so, will they make it available to residents?
From a co-founder of Vacant Richmond (and founder of another cool crime map, RichmondCrime.org) –†Whoa I Was on the News Again.