Vacant lots, so often seen as neighborhood blight, have the potential to be a key element of community revitalization. As manufacturing cities reinvent themselves after decades of lost jobs and population, abundant vacant land resources and interest in green infrastructure are expanding opportunities for community and environmental resilience. Vacant to Vibrant: Creating Successful Green Infrastructure offers practical insight and inexpensive tools to convert excess vacant land, aging sewer infrastructure, and declining neighborhoods into inspiring and productive community green spaces.
Sandra Albro, author and project manager for Vacant to Vibrant, recounts the implementation process, challenges, and successes she and her team faced in piloting the creation of green infrastructure networks in Gary, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. Collectively, lessons and challenges from these three case studies illustrate the larger economic and social dynamics within each city, then demonstrates how green technology can convert old systems into functional community green spaces.
Check out Chapter 1 “Green Stormwater Infrastructure on Vacant Lots” below, or download the PDF here.
