In 2008, Columbia received a $519,000 HUD grant to replace blighted east Columbia homes with pre-built housing. Under CHRC's plan, lower-income single-family homes will eventually replace dilapidated structures and act as catalysts for additional neighborhood reinvestment.

Are economic incentives and regulatory relief useful tools for encouraging reuse of abandoned or under-utilised urban sites with historic buildings? Answering this question is of key importance for many European cities and for older US cities, and has important implications in terms of urban...