Vacant Land Elements Examples by Type

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Policy
City of Danville Zoning Ordinance
City of Danville

The City of Danville zoning ordinance provides a number of useful tools for vacant lot development, including allowing urban gardening in most districts with a special permit, and creating a designation for districts where new development will infill parcels with vegetation and landscaping.

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Policy
Open Baltimore
City of Baltimore

Open Baltimore is an online data portal that provides the public with access to hundreds of datasets and interactive dashboards, including a Vacant Building Dashboard. The Vacant Building Dashboard shares data on the number of vacant building notices, building rehabs, and demolitions. The data can be sorted and filtered by geographic bounds, time increments, and even “housing market typology.”

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Policy
Pittsburgh Land Recycling Handbook
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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Policy
City of Camden Zoning Ordinance
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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Plans
Rochester 2034 Comprehensive Plan
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…

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Policy
City of Rochester Vacant Lot Sales Program & Map of City-owned Real Estate
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 waiting for their hidden potential to be realized. Featured is…

Read More »
Plans, Policy
Vacant Lot Handbook (Milwaukee)
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.

Read More »
Policy
Urban Homestead Program
City of Buffalo - Office of Strategic Planning

Buffalo’s Urban Homesteading Program enables eligible residents to purchase publicly owned land at a below market rate. Properties that are within designated Urban Renewal Areas are eligible for inclusion in the Urban Homestead Program at the sole discretion of the Office of Strategic Planning, provided that the property is not needed for public purposes and no qualified buyer is attempting to purchase the property.

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Policy
Mow-To-Own Program (New Orleans)
City of New Orleans

New Orleans’ ‘Mow-to-Own’ Program invites homeowners adjacent to blighted lots to apply to take care of the empty spaces with the goal of purchasing them down the line.

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Policy
City of Flint Zoning Ordinance
City of Flint

In 2017, the City of Flint amended its zoning ordinance to create new designations, including a designation that recognizes green reuse as the dominant land use strategy in certain areas of the city.

Read More »
City of Danville Zoning Ordinance

The City of Danville zoning ordinance provides a number of useful tools for vacant lot development, including allowing urban gardening in most districts with a special permit, and creating a designation for districts where new development will infill parcels with vegetation and landscaping.

Read More »
Open Baltimore

Open Baltimore is an online data portal that provides the public with access to hundreds of datasets and interactive dashboards, including a Vacant Building Dashboard. The Vacant Building Dashboard shares data on the number of vacant building notices, building rehabs, and demolitions. The data can be sorted and filtered by geographic bounds, time increments, and even “housing market typology.”

Read More »
Pittsburgh Land Recycling Handbook

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.

Read More »
City of Camden Zoning Ordinance

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.

Read More »
Rochester 2034 Comprehensive Plan

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 »
City of Rochester Vacant Lot Sales Program & Map of City-owned 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 waiting for their hidden potential to be realized. Featured is…

Read More »
Vacant Lot Handbook (Milwaukee)

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.

Read More »
Urban Homestead Program

Buffalo’s Urban Homesteading Program enables eligible residents to purchase publicly owned land at a below market rate. Properties that are within designated Urban Renewal Areas are eligible for inclusion in the Urban Homestead Program at the sole discretion of the Office of Strategic Planning, provided that the property is not needed for public purposes and no qualified buyer is attempting to purchase the property.

Read More »
Mow-To-Own Program (New Orleans)

New Orleans’ ‘Mow-to-Own’ Program invites homeowners adjacent to blighted lots to apply to take care of the empty spaces with the goal of purchasing them down the line.

Read More »
City of Flint Zoning Ordinance

In 2017, the City of Flint amended its zoning ordinance to create new designations, including a designation that recognizes green reuse as the dominant land use strategy in certain areas of the city.

Read More »