The Reimagining Cleveland Vacant Lot Greening Program

Author(s): Center for Community Progress

In September 2015, the Center for Community Progress — through our technical assistance scholarship program — worked with the Reimagining Cleveland Workgroup and the City of Cleveland to assess vacant land reuse in the city.

The Reimagining Cleveland greening program is a vacant land reuse initiative launched in 2008, rooted in a strong network of public, nonprofit, and civic partners and supported by a broad base of residents and community stakeholders. The nationally recognized initiative, originally convened and still led by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, seeks to “create sustainable solutions to vacancy while building a movement of solidarity and stewardship.”

This research brief provides a comparative analysis of the economic impacts of different greening interventions carried out under Reimagining Cleveland, and suggests opportunities to better align and coordinate local funding streams for a more impactful approach to greening vacant land in the City.