Neighborhood Sustainability Projects

After three years of working with neighborhood groups through our CityRoots planting program, we found significant resident interest in cleaning up and transforming vacant lots into accessible and safe spaces - but there was no clear process for doing so. In response, UEI launched a pilot project in Dorchester to examine the issue of vacant lots and create a Vacant Lot Campaign. In partnership with the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation's STARS 2 Leadership program and the Codman Square Health Center's BOLD teens, an inventory of all open space and vacant lots in the 1/2 mile square pilot area was completed in Fall 2005. 150 lots had become housing between 2001 and the survey date - 397 open lots remained. 160 of these were kept by residents as side yards, a majority with 30% or more of the surface area covered in asphalt. The rest were vacant, either mowed or unmowed. A community survey showed residents equally interested in lots becoming housing and open space; a follow-up interview showed the need for resident involvement in this planning process.

UEI is now collaborating with City of Boston agencies, City-wide environmental groups, neighborhood development corporations and resident organizations to begin a City-wide Vacant Lot campaign. The vision for this effort is to create a collaborative, resident-informed process for determining the future of the City's remaining vacant land.

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