Transforming a contaminated lot into a space to enjoy nature

Seed a Lot: Sidewalk Share

Greenprint led landscape architecture design for the Seed A Lot: Sidewalk Share project, transforming a 21-foot setback on a contaminated vacant lot into an immersive rewilding landscape, creating a space for communal respite and wildlife habitat. This project highlights resiliency and the ability to reclaim a former industrial site within a short time frame, while actively working to reverse the effects of past disinvestment. It also serves as a template for the activation of vacant space and for corridor creation in urban settings and demonstrates the benefits of more equitable public access to green spaces.

In addition to adding beauty and vegetation to a barren landscape, the project serves several social, economic and ecological purposes. Socially, the addition of trees and green landscapes on underutilized, barren lots creates “tree equity” in communities that lag behind the average tree canopy in the city. 

Ecologically, this project attracts pollinators, adds lush plantings and more than 30 trees to the community, sequesters carbon, produces oxygen and mitigates the Urban Heat Island Effect via evaporative cooling. In an area particularly vulnerable to flooding, the newly planted setback increases the site's stormwater management capacity by more than 57,000 gallons. View the Seed a Lot: Sidewalk Share Framework here.