The city of Des Moines has spent several years taking a closer look at the condition of its neighborhoods, with recent efforts done alongside Arlington, Va.-based consultancy CZB LLC and its president, Charles Buki.

It has been a complicated process, and some of the findings have been troublesome for the city and a decades-long attempt to reverse the aging process in some neighborhoods. The gist of a report from CZB is that some neighborhoods are in dire condition, some are teetering on the brink, and a few are doing quite well.

Among the findings were that more than 60 percent of the city’s homes have failed to appreciate in value enough over the last 20 years to keep pace with inflation, another 15 percent have barely run ahead of inflation, and only 1 in 4 homes has actually proved a good financial investment.

The city has launched the first phase of a prototype demand-based effort to stimulate reinvestment in four pilot neighborhoods.

Buki will present his firm’s analysis and highlight a strategy to inject new energy into neighborhoods from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Feb. 28 at the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, 420 Watson Powell Jr. Way, Suite 200, Des Moines.

The presentation is sponsored by the Urban Land Institute Iowa. The cost to attend is $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Register here.

For more about the city’s efforts, read “Long haul to revitalize many Des Moines neighborhoods“ and “A nagging problem“ at BusinessRecord.com.