The City of Chicago holds over 15,000 abandoned lots throughout the city, sitting idle, gathering dust and debris as decades of neglect plague these spaces. These lots are a product of redlining, urban renewal projects, and other policies against low-income communities of color that have shaped Chicago into the city it is today. These lots can be seen throughout Chicago, but have a significantly higher concentration in low-income communities of color, with a large portion of the concentration of abandoned lots in the Westside. Though these lots are the physical embodiment of inequality and disinvestment, they stand to provide an unparalleled resource within the city: available land. With spatial inequality affecting not only socioeconomic factors but also having environmental and ecological effects, neighborhood-scale green spaces can provide a space that addresses these issues. I propose that the city of Chicago utilizes these vacant lots in inner-city community areas and transfer them into the Chicago Parks District, creating a block park system that is already integrated into the neighborhood blocks. Rather than keeping these spaces vacant, a series of protocols can be created to garner community support and engagement to fill these lots with a purpose: to provide entertainment, rest, community engagement and environmental benefits to the neighborhood. I will be using the community area of North Lawndale as my case study neighborhood to delve into the implementation of this proposal, and to showcase how these vacant lots can be easily integrated into the Chicago Parks District as well as the surrounding community and block with deliberate community involvement.
Yoon Suh Noelle Suh (Thu,) studied this question.