Print PageThe population exodus from many Midwestern, USA, cities has created an opportunity to reenvision the city as a sustainable, ecologically-friendly place, with thousands of vacant lots repurposed to more passive natural habitats. Redevelopment of vacant land for economic purposes is relatively well understood and supported by existing policies. In contrast, tools for incorporating basic ecological principles into land use planning are largely absent. As part of an Urban Long Term Research Area (ULTRA) Grant from the National Science Foundation, the Northeast Ohio Ecosystem Consortium (NEOECO) is implementing the "Parks and Vacant Lands as Mechanisms of Ecological and Social Stability in the Cleveland Urban Ecosystem" project. An initial, practical grant effort has been to develop an easy to use, ecologically-based tool for planners evaluating the repurposing of 0f vacant land.
"Rapid assessment method" (RAM) protocols have been successfully developed in the context of wetland assessment and management. These RAMs embed ecological knowledge into a series of content-based questions focusing on key processes and condition. This evaluation paradigm incorporates easily observed office or site-based structural features. The Vacant Land Rapid Assessment Procedure (VL-RAP) outlined here extends this approach to a screening evaluation of vacant land to determine its potential for passive (habitat, stormwater, park, garden) uses.
Results/Conclusions
The VL-RAP focuses on site-specific, landscape and socio-economic factors. An Assessment Area (AA) is defined and 5 metrics are evaluated that focus on 1) existing and realistic potential size of vacant land being evaluated, 2) landscape position and connectivity to existing habitats; 3) soil as a dominant factor in the potential for the reuse of urban vacant land; 4) existing economic redevelopment potential; and 5) current and potential ecological condition of the vacant land if passive uses are implemented.
Results from this procedure provide guidance on land use decisions, especially with respect to whether land should be considered for passive uses rather than more active development. Initial evaluation of the procedure showed that the VL-RAP is capable of differentiating at least three use classes: 1) land that may be considered for more "active" redevelopment; 2) land that may have good potential for passive uses based on increasing size, connectivity, habitat, neighborhood acceptance, etc. to improve score and potential; and 3) land that has high potential for passive uses.
