I just wrote a research paper on vacant, blighted lots in Atlanta and their effect on neighborhoods. Turns out the city actually does have a whole system in place – in theory – to keep them from happening. There is stuff in the code about structural problems, garbage, attracting criminal activities, graffiti. . .you name it. You can even get in trouble for letting vines and vegetation grow enough to house vermin: rats, flies, lizards and snakes. The Atlanta code doesn’t seem to have my problem with squirrels. But lizards? Look out. Lizards are a menace.