Groundwork USA is thrilled to announce that five Groundwork Trusts have been awarded a total of $400,000 to engage community members in the transformation of brownfield sites into vibrant community assets through the Land Use Innovation Initiative. 

This initiative, made possible through a collaborative partnership between Groundwork USA, NPS-Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, the EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, with additional funding support through Hydro Flask’s Parks For All program, creates opportunities for community members to play a leading role in the creation of new parks, recreational spaces, and community gardens in their neighborhoods.

There are over 450,000 brownfield sites–land suspected of being contaminated by hazardous substances or industrial pollutants -dotted across the country. The majority of these sites are located in low-income, under-resourced urban neighborhoods with a history of exposure to industrial infrastructure such as incinerators, factories, railyards, and highways. For over two decades, the Groundwork Network has collaborated with the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to reclaim these neglected spaces and repurpose them as parks, trails, community gardens, and recreational spaces that provide multiple benefits to the community. The Land Use Innovation Initiative (LUI) builds on this expertise by expanding opportunities for residents to participate in every stage of the process.

Land Use Innovation projects are selected based on their potential to spark innovation, leadership, and long-term investment in land revitalization. Through our first round of projects in 2022 -2024, seven Groundwork Trusts piloted creative strategies deepening resident engagement in planning processes. Groundwork Lawrence created a seasonal pop-up park on a former gas station lot. Groundwork Bridgeport launched a new virtual engagement platform to encourage residents to share their vision for an improved waterfront. And, Groundwork Rhode Island launched a compost education program on the site of their future commercial-scale compost hub.

“The West End Compost Hub project will transform two abandoned brownfields into a medium-scale composting facility that will divert food waste from the landfill and connect more people to community composting and urban agriculture. Thanks to the LUI Grant, Groundwork Rhode Island can transform a vacant brownfield in Providence’s West End into a space shaped by the community, for the community,” says Amelia Rose, Executive Director of Groundwork Rhode Island. “This funding enabled us to engage with residents, businesses, schools, and other community members to amplify their voices in the project planning for the Hub and ensure their priorities are embedded in the vision. Congratulations to all the other LUI grant recipients in the Groundwork network!”

This next round of Land Use Innovation projects prioritizes deepening resident engagement in long-term planning projects. With this funding:

• Groundwork Atlanta will engage West Side residents to gather and share information on brownfield land revitalization opportunities through initiatives like a community ambassadors program, community events, and a brownfield land revitalization dashboard that will visualize how these projects will impact the local community.
• Groundwork Denver will gather the perspectives of the Sheridan community through various community engagements to develop a brownfield site redesign plan that centers community needs and priorities.
• Groundwork New Orleans’s Green Teamers, high-school-aged community leaders, will create a brownfield inventory to track and record location, site condition, heat, and flooding concerns across these sites and conduct community interviews to identify opportunities to install stormwater infrastructure and/or create new natural open spaces to address these concerns.
• Groundwork Ohio River Valley will engage residents, businesses, and local government in the Roselawn neighborhood to develop a brownfield inventory and develop a reuse plan a priority project site.
• Groundwork San Diego will collaborate with community members, local organizations, and business leaders to develop a concept plan for transforming a 17-acre brownfield into a public outdoor space and flood mitigation park.

“There is so much potential in brownfield sites to be transformed into important community spaces that meet multiple needs—outdoor space, resilience infrastructure, recreation, and so much more. Intentional engagement and collaboration with the surrounding community is essential to reaching the full potential of these projects, ” shares Jalisa Gilmore from Groundwork USA. “We’re excited to continue partnering with the National Park Service and Environmental Protection Agency to expand resident participation in these important projects.”

To learn more about The Land Use Innovation Grants and the grantee projects, please visit: https://groundworkusa.org/land-use-innovation-initiative/

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Groundwork USA is the national capacity-building organization for a national network of community-centered organizations working hand-in-hand with residents to transform areas with the greatest need into healthy, green, and resilient communities. For over two decades, we have worked to address the impacts of past harmful practices and build the capacity of communities to effect change in the natural and built environments in which they live. We do this by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses, and organizations to promote environmental, economic, and social well-being.