Building Resilience: A Resource Guide for Community-Owned Vacant Lot Activations in Good Stock Detroit
Perales, Dolores; LaMarr LeMee, Genevieve
2022-04
Abstract
The purpose of the Building Resilience study is to identify opportunities for reclaiming vacant properties and transitioning the land to productive uses in the Good Stock neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. Through rigorous analysis and deep community engagement, the project’s goal is to further current public health and climate resilience goals and prepare for future climate change impacts by providing vacant lot design plans, resources and funding opportunities for Good Stock residents and community-based organizations. Detroit’s extensive open land is the result of several compounding factors including deindustrialization, depopulation, disinvestment, municipal fiscal mismanagement, and racist lending practices. The majority of investments that have been made in post-bankruptcy Detroit have focused on downtown rather than the neighborhoods and many of these efforts have not been community-led. This study has sought to investigate what community resilience could look like leveraging vacant lots as a valuable resource once activated. An area selection process spatially evaluated key health and environmental indicators including proportion of vacant land, heat vulnerability, flood risk, asthma rate, number of violent crimes, and housing stability and social advantage indices leading to the study scope focusing on the Kettering neighborhood and later expanding to Good Stock. The intention of the study process undertaken however was for it to be replicable in other Detroit neighborhoods. Prior to beginning community engagement, the study sought to understand how City policy supports vacant lot activations. Support was understood as encouraging land uses or offering financial resources. Review of the Climate Action Plan and Sustainability Action Agenda showed clear support for the activation of vacant lots for agricultural and recreational uses and green spaces. The Detroit Land Bank Authority’s Vacant Land Policy includes programs offering the sale of vacant lots to directly adjacent or neighboring residents for affordable prices. The City has also allocated a portion of its unprecedented federal infusion of capital through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to vacant lot activations. ii Armed with an understanding of the City’s priorities and available support, community engagement ensued to identify key priorities among Good Stock residents and community-based organizations that could be addressed through the activation of vacant lots. Three surveys were conducted in addition to regular meetings with community-based organizations. The key desired features community members wanted incorporated into vacant lot activations were green stormwater infrastructure, public safety including dumping prevention, recreation, community gardens and urban agriculture, and public arts and culture. Nine design templates, five being amendments to designs originally developed by Detroit Future City, were created to incorporate these key features. While public safety was identified as a key concern, the City’s ARPA plan takes a limited view of public safety interventions that does not include environmental design techniques. Crime prevention through environmental design was a strategy that community-based organizations expressed interest in employing. Vacant lot activations utilizing distinct design techniques have an important role to play as a crime prevention strategy that also offers physical and mental health co-benefits. The nine designs prepared include a variety of these design techniques. Implementation and maintenance were key concerns identified through the community engagement process. Therefore, the vacant lot designs have also been paired with suggested planting materials and funding and other implementation resources. A case study analysis was also conducted to identify project maintenance and workforce development programs operating across the city which may be able to offer support or serve as a model for future program development. The programs identified range by employment type and duration. For the youth focused programs, there appeared to be an operational reliance on the Grow Detroit Young Talent Program. Adult programs had a subject matter focus on landscaping, construction and tree care. Recommendations were developed with the aim to provide a suggested framework for Good Stock pertaining to lot revitalization and overall community sustainability. As the neighborhood pushes forward to adapt and be more climate resilient, it is key for residents to be at the forefront of decision making regarding Good Stock and its future.Deep Blue DOI
Subjects
vacant lot community engagement crime prevention through environmental design American Rescue Plan Act
Types
Practicum
Metadata
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