Vacant Land Elements Examples by Type

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Large stainless steel brewing tanks inside a renovated industrial building with original brick walls, steel-framed windows, and hardwood floors.
Policy
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program
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.

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An aerial view of a newly developed urban greenway with a restored meandering stream, walking paths, playground, basketball courts, and open lawn areas running through a residential neighborhood.
Context
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Map
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..

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The City of Danville, Virginia logo established 1793, featuring a stylized mill building over water, overlaid on an aerial photo of the city's historic brick downtown.
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.

Read More »
A screenshot of Baltimore's Open Baltimore DHCD Dashboard showing daily-updated trend lines for vacant building notices, new VBNs issued, rehabbed properties, and demolitions from 2016 to 2024, with current counts of 12,748 VBNs, 10,458 new VBNs issued, 10,247 rehabbed, and 3,678 demolitions.
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.”

Read More »
Cover of the Pittsburgh Land Recycling Handbook, an analysis of distressed land and an operational plan for a coordinated land recycling system, produced by Fourth Economy Consulting in partnership with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, with an abstract graphic of interlocking hexagonal shapes in gray, gold, green, and blue.
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.

Read More »
Aerial view of downtown Camden, New Jersey, with a historic red brick church in the foreground and city buildings stretching to the horizon, alongside the City of Camden New Jersey official logo and coat of arms.
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.

Read More »
Cover of the Rochester 2034 comprehensive plan, featuring an aerial night photograph of downtown Rochester, New York, with illuminated streets, highways, and skyscrapers stretching to the horizon.
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…

Read More »
Screenshot of the City of Rochester City Owned Real Estate interactive map, showing color-coded parcels across the city with a legend distinguishing property statuses such as hold, permanently owned, sold, and pending, along with a description of the Division of Real Estate's management role.
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…

Read More »
Cover of the City of Milwaukee Vacant Lot Handbook, Fall 2013, a guide to reusing and adding value to city-owned vacant lots, featuring photos of a community garden being watered, an outdoor cafe patio, two boys holding freshly harvested greens, and a group working in a community garden with a greenhouse.
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 »
Line drawing illustration of a two-story house with a garage and trees, overlaid on a large key shape, with the text Community-Wide Urban Renewal Homestead Program below.
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.

Read More »
Policy
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program
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 »
Context
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Map
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 »
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.

Read More »
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.”

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »
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…

Read More »
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…

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.

Read More »