Vacant land is a common sight in virtually every American city. Scattered among houses in residential areas, especially in distressed neighborhoods, small and large vacant, trash-filled lots contribute to an appearance of blight. Abandoned factories and warehouses --some of which are "brownfields" with hazardous wastes in their soil -- mar waterfronts and old industrial corridors. Large metropolitan communities have been especially affected by the dilemma of abandoned land.

Coming to terms with the issues and problems surrounding vacant land is a difficult challenge. Little, if any, precedent exists. In most cities, planners and developers typically view vacant land as "the space that is left over" after housing, commercial, and institutional development schemes have been built. So the potential uses of vacant land become isolated from other aspects of neighborhood planning and development. Nonprofit organizations, city officials, and observers across the country indicate that the growing scale of vacancy requires new perspectives on urban land use and management. And that existing assumptions and practices need a comprehensive reevaluation since current methods clearly are not working.

This report was developed out of a series of documents on urban vacant land by one of the leading groups in the country dealing with this issue -- the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which also supported the color printing in this report. Part 1 of the report addresses the challenges to urban vitality presented by vacant land, vacant land as a neighborhood resource, large-scale greening systems, and the link between urban renewal and sprawl. Part 2 provides an in-depth look at some PHS programs, including the rebirth of the New Kensington Philadelphia neighborhood and the Green City Strategy employed by the City of Philadelphia. An appendix provides a list of contacts to the many Community Development Corporations active in the area of urban greening.

Table of Contents:

Part 1. Toward a New Way of Thinking About Urban Vacant Land

Chapter 1: Abandoned Real Estate and Its Challenge to Urban Vitality
   Managing Vacant Land
   Rethinking the Value of Vacant Urban Land
   The Causes of Vacant Land
   Planning Considerations and Jurisdictional Constraints
   The Consequences of Vacant Land

Chapter 2: Vacant Land as a Neighborhood Resource
   The Gardening and Greening Movement
   Urban Land Trusts
   Lower-Density Housing and Open Space
   Comprehensive Approaches to Community Revitalization
   Greening as a Revitalization Tool
   Urban Green Industries
   Building Green Neighborhoods from Within

Chapter 3: Large-Scale Urban Greening Systems
   Greenways
   City Gateways
   Former Industrial Sites
   Making Complex Projects Happen

Chapter 4: Brownfields and Greenfields: The Link Between Urban Renewal and Suburban Sprawl
   Obstacles to Metropolitan Regional Planning
   The Issues of Environmental Remediation
   Public Land Reclamation Projects
   Land Recycling Project of New Jersey
   Finding Regional Common Ground

Chapter 5: Promoting Reuse
   Land: Private Ownership vs. Public Good
   Public Vacant Land Policies and Practices
   Municipal Land Inventory Systems
   Acquisition and Disposition Procedures
   Land Banking
   Vacant Land Management
   Comprehensive Neighborhood Planning
   A Radical Proposal in Detroit
   Lessons learned

Part 2. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Chapter 6: The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Helps Green Philadelphia
   Site-Based Work in the 1970s
   Community-Based Work in the 1980s
   Greening with Community Development Corporations
   City Parks, High-Profile Downtown Landscapes and City Entryways
   Program Growth Through Time

Chapter 7: A Rebirth in New Kensington
   A CDC Tackles Neighborhood Decline
   Transforming Unmanaged Parcels
   Reflecting on the Vacant Land Management Program

Chapter 8: The Green City Strategy: An Initiative for Philadelphia's Renaissance
   The Six Components of the Green City Strategy
   The Stakeholders: Everyone has a Role