Vacant Land Elements Examples
Vacant land stewardship requires four fundamental elements: knowing your community’s context, having clear goals and plans, committing to collaboration, and enacting facilitative policies. These four elements will look different in every community, but they are all critical components of implementing successful vacant land stewardship. To learn more about these elements and discover some next steps for your community's learning journey, explore the element examples below.
Element Type
Organization
Trenton Neighborhood Restoration Campaign
In 2014, the Trenton Neighborhood Restoration Campaign (TNRC) organized the first truly comprehensive, parcel-level survey of all the vacant properties in Trenton — mapped, published, and updated on this interactive website. The TNRC also organized residents and local groups to draw attention to the problems caused by vacant and abandoned properties.
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Grounded in Philly
The Vacant Land 215 Toolkit is a guide for both new and current gardeners in Philadelphia looking to use land productively, understand how to gain legal access to City-owned vacant spaces for community food production or open space, or understand what legal protections are available for existing community gardens.
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Grounded Strategies
The PGH Mobile Toolbox is a library of landscaping tools available for free to resident groups and community organizations in Allegheny County to use in the care and stewardship of vacant land and community green spaces.
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Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Land Recycling Handbook includes an analysis of distressed land in Pittsburgh, its impact, and the processes for managing it, as well as an operational plan to create a more coordinated and effective land recycling system.
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Grounded Strategies
Lots to Love is an online guide for community organizations and residents in the Pittsburgh region who are interested in transforming vacant lots into well-loved spaces. This website, created by the nonprofit Grounded Strategies, connects users to resources and ideas to support reuse of vacant lots, and provides information about organizations currently doing this work in the Pittsburgh region.
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City of Camden
The City of Camden zoning ordinance has many goals that align with vacant land reuse and revitalization, including “to conserve a corridor of natural open space (greenways) primarily along waterways within the City” and “to emphasize the need for a wide variety of open space and demonstrate its value as an essential community asset.
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American Forests
The Tree Equity Score tool calculates a “tree equity score” for all 150,000 neighborhoods and 486 municipalities in urbanized areas across the continental United States.
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City of Milwaukee Department of City Development
With the help of many dedicated citizens and professionals, the Department of City Development in Milwaukee has put together a handbook of creative reuse strategies for city-owned vacant land.
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City of Rochester Division of Real Estate
This website assists residents in accessing or purchasing one of the 3,400 City-owned vacant lots in Rochester for temporary or permanent projects. Some lots are sold for large development projects, many are used as community gardens, and many more are…
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City of Rochester
Rochester 2034 is a 15-year comprehensive plan to improve the community. Rochester’s population losses over the last several decades have left a legacy of vacancy – an urban challenge common to Rust Belt cities. Key takeaways in this work note that half of the vacant parcels in Rochester are owned by the City; all City-owned vacant lots are maintained at a ‘clean and green’ standard that exceeds many other cities…
Read More »Elevated Chicago
In Elevated Chicago’s report, a case study of two areas in Chicago near transit hubs discuss the impact of vacant lots as well as the potential they hold for the area.
Read More »University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability
A study led by the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan-Dearborn aims to understand the connection between vacant lot maintenance, such as greenwater storm infrastructure (GSI), and subsequent mental health effects.
Read More »Groundwork USA
The New Orleans Green Infrastructure Map is an ArcGIS map, created in partnership with Groundwork USA, Groundwork New Orleans and several community partners, seeks to document the various greening initiatives across the city of New Orleans.
Read More »Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS)
The Green Equity Initiative by the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) is a proposal for environmental neighborhood investment in Philadelphia in the form of neighborhood-based greening solutions.
Read More »Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD)
The Brownfield Remediation and Development Program provides $24.6 million in state funding to remediate 41 VAD properties across Connecticut.
Read More »Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA Region 5 Brownfields Map is an ArcGIS visual of various brownfield redevelopment success stories in the Midwest. The map has 30 examples with descriptions of projects including environmental assessments, redeveloping spaces into medical complexes, housing, a museum, etc..
Read More »Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
The Greening America’s Smaller Legacy Cities from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a policy-focused report on how local governments in small and midsize older industrial cities can adopt and implement comprehensive sustainability initiatives.
Read More »Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership
The Garden Resources of Warren (GROW) Program provides technical support leadership development, and educational programming for Warren’s community gardens and operates the Warren Farmer’s Market. Operated by the Trumbull Neighborhood Partneship,
Read More »Metropolitan Planning Council
A pilot report from the Metropolitan Planning Council and Emerald South explore how greenwater storm infrastructure (GSI) can be implemented based on local sewer conditions and vacant lot availability for efficient stormwater management.
Read More »Calhoun Land Bank Authority
Led by the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority the Washington Heights Land Re-Use Strategy seeks to revitalize the Neighborhood Planning Council 2 (NPC2) area of Battle Creek, Michigan. Led by the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority
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