Vacant land is a persistent issue in the City of Cleveland—over 30,000 of the city’s 167,000 total parcels sit vacant. Of the 30,000 vacant parcels, around 18,000 are owned by the City of Cleveland through the Cleveland Land Bank.
Often, these public vacant lots can create even more issues as they fall into disrepair, attracting litter and crime while costing the City millions of dollars for additional upkeep.
What if these unused parcels became green spaces designed to better serve Cleveland residents today and tomorrow? What if we fixed maintenance issues so that every dollar the City invests in public land goes further? What if this work could build on efforts towards growing a healthy tree canopy in Cleveland? These are our goals for Groundwork.
Launched in 2020, Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Groundwork program was created to rethink how vacant lots exist in Cleveland, growing out of—and, in turn, informing—our ongoing property inventory program and our Reforest Our City program. Our goal is to create high-quality natural areas that are low-cost and easily maintained, using strategies like cleaning up overgrowth, removing illegal dumping, improving sidewalks, and planting trees.
This program is built on strong partnerships with public agencies like the City of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga Land Bank. We work with residents, community partners, and city officials to create critical Nature Based Solutions that will benefit communities while supporting existing neighborhood assets like parks, local businesses, and walkways.
For every Groundwork project, we follow six steps for success:
Groundtruthing is a process that works between the City and communities to make sure that everyone is on the same page about a vacant parcel’s new purpose. The City of Cleveland proposes a future use for every publicly owned parcel, which can be housing, transit-oriented development, side yard, or natural area. Then, neighborhood residents are recruited to visit each parcel and either agree with the city or suggest something else.
Next, we partner with the City, community development corporations, neighborhood organizations, and funders to identify smaller groups of sites that we work on at the same time. Typically, parcel groups look like a handful of lots along a single street, so that improvements support existing neighborhood assets.
Staff walk through every parcel and document conditions before work can begin, taking note of buried or damaged sidewalks, fencing, illegal dumping, stumps, concrete slabs, sunken ground, and more. A certified arborist also walks each site to evaluate existing trees, marking any dead, dying, or hazardous trees to be removed and healthy, well-placed trees to be preserved. We also talk to neighbors to let them know about our program and collect their feedback.
Using local contractors, we begin working on each site. The work can include removing and hauling away fencing, dumped furniture, appliances, or tires; filling and firming sunken holes and depressions; removing buried concrete; bare ground seeding; and clearing sidewalks. Our staff walks each parcel weekly to check their status, and review the work to make sure it meets our standards.
Before planting any trees, our Reforest Our City program staff go door-to-door, letting residents know that trees will be planted on nearby parcels and answering questions that residents may have. Species and location of trees are selected by certified arborists on our staff and then planted by our team. Each tree is planted with stakes, tree ties, and a trunk guard, as well as fencing to protect it from deer when needed.
For the first three years after planting we visit each tree weekly, and water them May through September to make sure they stay healthy. We mulch each spring and fall, and pull weeds at each visit. Our staff also inspects the trees for damage, root flare exposure, mulch condition, and more, and we replace any trees that die during the first three years. Site maintenance goes hand in hand with tree care. We remove litter, sweep sidewalks, and log site conditions on a set schedule—when needed, we report dumping and large items through 311 to be cleared within two visits. We always place a Reforest Our City sign at each site with our contact information in case community members need to get in touch.
The Groundwork program is funded through the federal Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; developed in collaboration with The MetroHealth System, Cleveland Clinic, the City of Cleveland, and community development corporations; and supported by the Bezos Earth Fund.