5100 - An urban explorer's magazine. Anyone who has explored in the provinces of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba is welcome to write about their experiences and submit it to the zine for publishing.

The National Vacant Properties Campaign is seeking to make vacant properties reclamation a national priority. To achieve this, we are focusing on four goals:

BUILD A NATIONAL NETWORK TO SUPPORT A NATIONAL MOVEMENT We plan to cultivate leaders and develop a national network of experts, practitioners and consultants with extensive experience and interest in reclamation efforts. We will recruit a diverse array of leaders, from environmental advocates to real estate professionals.

GIVE COMMUNITIES THE TOOLS THEY NEED Practitioners are searching for new strategies, policies, and tools that can help them prevent, manage, and rehabilitate vacant properties. The Campaign will focus on disseminating cutting-edge research, identifying and analyzing policy innovations and best practices, presenting model legislation, and informing people about the latest policy developments in the field.

MAKE THE CASE FOR RECLAMATION EFFORTS Effective communications are essential for transforming ideas into action. We will collect compelling evidence, develop persuasive messages for our spokespeople, determine the best ways to influence top decision makers, and elevate the visibility of the issue for the general public.

PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING Many communities lack the capacity or expertise to deal with their vacant properties by themselves. The Campaign will provide several forms of expert assistance to help a wide range of communities jump start their vacant property efforts.

Does this mean they would sponsor someone to fix up an abandoned house? I wonder if you could buy an abandoned home through them, fix it up with training on how to do so (from them) and then have a new home for yourself? This could be a cheap way of getting your own home.

These are my best links in the latest update for Bewitching Vagabond at Backwash.

Night Photographer

The Derelict Sensation

I've been a fan of urban exploration/ industrial archeology before I knew it had fancy names. What is the allure of abandoned buildings and whole ghost towns? I think of the people who lived there, grew up there, planted the trees, fixed the hole in the fence, and so on. I guess it's kind of romantic. I don't seem to assume that the people who lived before ever had a bad life. I just think of nice things, good times even in hard times.