Table 2 Themes on abandoning housing topics in Birmingham, Alabama 2016 focus groups
Topics | Themes | |
|---|---|---|
Reason(s) persist | Authorities are unresponsive or they do not follow through (5 groups) | |
Government maintenance is limited/slow (4 groups) | ||
Money issues (4 groups) | ||
Problems involved in buying/selling/tearing down (3 groups) | ||
Abandon house owners do not pay taxes (2 groups) | ||
Unequitable distribution of government resources, wealthy areas rezoning poor streets to Birmingham (2 groups) | ||
Owners neglect maintenance (1 group) | ||
Lack of specifying maintenance instructions for owners (1 group) | ||
Abandoned houses are not government priority (1 group) | ||
Issues with outsiders buying and selling drugs in neighborhoods (1 group) | ||
Need to communicate with government, not just neighbors (1 group) | ||
Population decreases (1 group) | ||
Racism (1 group) | ||
Difficulty attending city council meetings (1 group) | ||
Solutions at individual level | Long-term | Participate in the community/neighborhood (2 groups) |
Buy or mortgage abandon houses/lots (2 groups) | ||
Rehab nearby abandon lots/ houses (1 group) | ||
Short-term | Attend city council meetings (4 groups) | |
Contact government and report issues (4 groups) | ||
Individuals maintain nearby abandon lots/ houses (2 groups) | ||
Pressure authorities to act (1 group) | ||
Curfew for kids (1 group) | ||
Sell the properties (1 group) | ||
Specify whom to contact about the abandoned home (1 group) | ||
Solutions at neighborhood level | Long-term | Hold authorities accountable (2 groups) |
Community support city council representative (1 group) | ||
Engage community (1 group) | ||
Neighborhoods work together to address issue, establish a community residents council (1 group) | ||
Short-term | Community work together to clean up neighborhood (1 group) | |
Raise awareness (1 group) | ||
Community council inform government about residents’ concerns (1 group) | ||
Solutions at government level | Long-term | Government confiscates, tears down abandoned houses (5 groups) |
Transfer ownership to people who will maintain them (4 groups) | ||
Build new homes or homeless shelter after tearing down, build new parks for kids in abandoned lots (4 groups) | ||
Engage community (2 groups) | ||
Address abandoned houses to also address crime (1 group) | ||
Provide proper funding (1 group) | ||
Hire more government personnel to maintain/tear down (1 group) | ||
City and county governments work together (1 group) | ||
Adopt anti-blight ordinance (1 group) | ||
Short-term | Patrol abandoned houses (3 groups) | |
City aids with maintenance (3 groups) | ||
Charge penalties for lack of maintenance (2 groups) | ||
Inform residents what is being done (1 group) | ||
Investigating ownership of abandoned houses (1 group) | ||
City oversees abandoned houses (1 group) | ||