Land Use Innovation Initiative

The Groundwork Land Use Innovation Initiative advances environmental justice through community-driven land revitalization efforts that transform brownfield sites into neighborhood assets like parks, trails, and community gardens. Made possible through a partnership between NPS-Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, the EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, and Groundwork USA, this program advances community-centered projects that spark innovation, resident leadership, and long-term investment in land revitalization across Groundwork communities. In 2024, additional funding was provided through Hydro Flask’s Parks for All program.

Each selected project prioritizes community engagement initiatives that deepen resident participation in Brownfield land reuse projects, but the specific initiatives are designed to meet specific community needs. For example, we’ve helped set up community advisory groups, hosted engagement events, developed interactive web dashboards, and created leadership development programs for both young people and adults. Our goal is to support projects that benefit both people and the environment. This means bringing together new partners to work toward shared goals, amplifying the voices of communities that have often been left out of these conversations, and preparing the next generation of environmental leaders.

Meet our 2024 Grantees
Meet Our 2022 Grantees

Groundwork Denver

Groundwork Denver (GWD) received $80,000 to engage residents in the creation of a brownfield reuse strategy for a site in Sheridan, Colorado. Through the project, GWD will partner with the City of Sheridan to address the environmental toll of brownfields and create a community-led plan for a new trailhead with access to Bear Creek and Bear Creek Trail. Resident input is critical for ensuring the project responds to the environmental needs of the community and that residents are aware of the benefits of the site. Funding will be used to facilitate community engagement through initiatives like organizing multiple community events, project update events, and participating in existing community events, youth events, school events, and additional in-person community engagement opportunities.

Groundwork New Orleans

Groundwork New Orleans was awarded $80,000 to engage their Green Team in the creation of a brownfield inventory and completion of small improvement projects.

New Orleans East, once a thriving hub of Black-owned businesses and community life, has faced significant neglect since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While redevelopment has prioritized touristy and affluent neighborhoods, New Orleans East remains largely forgotten, marked by abandoned shopping centers, overgrown lots, and a lack of investment. These brownfield sites also pose risks of increased heat and flooding.

This project will help GW New Orleans understand the current situation of brownfields in New Orleans East, specifically the number of sites, their distribution, and environmental impacts of heat and flooding. Youth will use FLIR heat cameras to capture data on these sites, as well as conduct interviews with residents to document their experiences and concerns. By documenting their findings, these students will become their own community stewards, amplify resident voices, and understand the importance of storytelling in change-making, specifically highlighting the risks associated with brownfields. Ultimately, this project hopes to inspire community-led initiatives that advocate for ecologically mindful redevelopment strategies, ensuring that the community has a say in determining the future uses of brownfield areas.

Groundwork Ohio River Valley

Groundwork Ohio River Valley (GW ORV) was awarded $80,000 to support community organizing and resident capacity building in the Roselawn neighborhood.

Roselawn is a small neighborhood located in the north-central region of Cincinnati along I-75. A predominantly Black neighborhood (85.9%), Roselawn has one of the city’s higher percentages of older adult residents. Residents face extremely high levels of PM 2.5 in the Air (9.81) and Ozone concentration (46.93). Roselawn has also one of the city’s lowest tree canopy coverage (7.2%), and its residents have extremely high proximity to Superfund, Toxic Industrial, and Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal sites.

The funding received will support resident capacity building and maintaining partnership development pertaining to Roselawn’s industrial past and its future for neighborhood vitality. This will be done by fostering open communication and collaboration with residents, business owners, stakeholders and City government through a community wide engagement plan for brownfield reuse through a collaborative model approach. Local leadership and partnerships will be constructed to address historic environmental injustice, black homeownership, real estate investment and the community’s vision for an equitable engagement process with brownfield property sites. Ultimately, this project hopes to enhance Roselawn’s community engagement and mission towards their resilience and justice, empower local communities to create actionable, attainable goals to enhance selected brownfield sites.

Groundwork San Diego

Groundwork San Diego was awarded $80,000 to develop a concept plan for the transformation of a 17-acre brownfield site in the Chollas Creek Watershed into a vibrant, multifunctional green space that addresses pressing environmental and social challenges. This site was identified as a prime opportunity for mitigating environmental harm while building community resilience by the community during prior community engagement initiatives Groundwork San Diego organized. Currently, the site is occupied by industrial businesses including a tow lot and junkyard, and is a significant source of pollution. With every rainfall, toxic runoff contaminates the Creek, exacerbating the area’s environment.

The funding received will be used to develop a community-led concept plan for the future public green space and flood park. Groundwork San Diego will engage and educate the community about brownfields, their impacts, and their potential for positive transformation. They will also build partnerships with local businesses to improve stormwater management practices and reduce pollution. Ultimately, their efforts in concept planning will lay the groundwork for future land acquisition and larger-scale transformation of the site.

Groundwork Atlanta

Groundwork Atlanta has been awarded $80,000 to engage and empower residents in zip code 30318, located on the western side of Atlanta, as they navigate the significant land redevelopment occurring in their neighborhood. This area houses large tracts of industrial land that was abandoned for years, but now these brownfields are being assessed by developers as valuable plots for commercial and real estate development. While these changes may introduce benefits like new housing and amenities, the scale and timeline of the redevelopment heightens the risk of gentrification and displacement for current long-standing residents.

Groundwork Atlanta will work to combat this by informing, meaningfully engaging, and empowering the community to be a part of the changes underway in their neighborhood. This will be done by working with residents, volunteers, partner organizations, and consultants to aggregate, document, and distribute information regarding the land revitalization, brownfield development, and related public infrastructure activities in the community. By breaking down barriers to access, residents will gain a clearer understanding of the changes happening around them. Groundwork Atlanta is committed to ensuring that the revitalization efforts benefit the community as a whole, turning these brownfield sites into assets that reflect local needs.

Groundwork Bridgeport

Groundwork Bridgeport was awarded a $20,075 Land Use Innovation Grant to collect community input on a waterfront activation plan to help guide the restoration of a large, coastal, publicly-owned brownfields site known as Sliver by the River. Bridgeport is home to 45 parks, yet many are low quality, poorly maintained, and lacking engaging programming. GW Bridgeport is focused on bridging the gap between the environmental needs of the people and land use planning by using a multi-channel approach to address community needs. By engaging the voices, knowledge and participation of the neighboring communities they aim to ensure that equity and sustainability are embedded in the Sliver by the River design process. Working with its youth program participants to conduct on-the-ground engagement, Groundwork Bridgeport is using innovative digital platforms to allow community members to weigh in on the ongoing Sliver by the River project and help planners develop an equitable design that meets the needs and expectations of the surrounding neighborhoods. This will serve as an ideal model for the future transformation of brownfields!

Groundwork Hudson Valley

Groundwork Hudson Valley received a $50,000 LUI grant to engage community members in the design of the future of Ludlow Park – a new public park along the Hudson River in Southwest Yonkers! Over a century ago, the city of Yonkers designated the site for commercial and industrial use, and millions of gallons of waste from manufacturing and agrochemical plants were disposed into the Hudson River each day. This project represents one of the most ambitious brownfield-to-park projects in the city’s recent history – building climate resilience in an area that will be dramatically affected by sea-level rise, heat waves, and coastal storms. Groundwork Hudson Valley and local partners will implement a community engagement and design effort to ensure that the inaccessible and polluted areas of the Hudson River Waterfront are transformed into a healthy and green space that meets the accessibility and resilience needs of the surrounding neighborhoods. Community input and climate resilience designs will address environmental issues and support educational programs that highlight the importance of ecosystem and water protection in the Hudson River.

Groundwork Jacksonville

Groundwork Jacksonville’s Emerald Trail Stewards (ETS) program, funded by the Land Use Innovation Initiative, is a green workforce training and brownfield education program, focused on providing economic opportunities to residents from Emerald Trail neighborhoods. This program trains stewards to install and maintain the native landscapes and green infrastructure along the Emerald Trail through a combination of classroom and on the job training. At the conclusion of the six-month program, successful Stewards will earn FNGLA’s industry-recognized Horticulture Professional and Landscape Technician certification.

Groundwork Lawrence

Community engagement and participation are essential to the creation of inclusive, diverse, and sustainable land reuse endeavors. Groundwork Lawrence received a $25,731 LUI grant to help engage residents in the transformation of the former Cyr Oil property into an accessible greenspace that extends active transportation opportunities in the neighborhood while addressing climate concerns.

The site is located in the Arlington neighborhood, a community in Lawrence with a legacy of divestment, contamination, brownfields, vacant lots, limited green space, shade inequity, air pollution, and auto congestion. GW Lawrence is prioritizing the transformation of Cyr Oil property in the Lawrence and Bennington Triangle with the creation of a neighborhood advisory group, which will receive capacity building and training to lead the reimagination of the site. The advisory group will develop a plan based on the critical needs of the local communities by evaluating the site’s past and present impacts and engaging their neighborhoods in a redesign process.

GW Lawrence is excited to partner with residents and the City of Lawrence to create a resident-informed, reimagined, and enhanced green space resulting in a beautified, vibrant gateway to the City.

Groundwork Milwaukee

Through the Land Use Innovation Initiative, Groundwork Milwaukee aims to educate residents of Metcalfe Park about brownfields and climate risks in their neighborhood. This includes identifying local brownfield sites, understanding associated health risks, and exploring land reuse options. The project will culminate in a climate resilience plan involving local brownfield sites, serving as a blueprint for future restoration projects to mitigate climate change effects in Metcalfe Park.

Groundwork
Ohio River Valley

Multi-use recreational spaces fulfill the needs of transportation, green spaces, and community connection. Yet, often these spaces are not accessible to all. Groundwork ORV received a $49,982 LUI grant for their trailblazing proposal to establish a new Climate Safe Neighborhood’s Climate Advisory Group to develop a plan for improving five brownfield sites and lay the foundation for a future Mill Creek Greenway Trail extension into South Cumminsville. GWORV will connect youth employment, city policy, and the priorities of frontline communities to guide site improvement and climate planning in the city.

Groundwork Rhode Island

We discard around 80 million pounds of food waste a year in the US! Groundwork Rhode Island is working to combat food waste and received a $49,051.75 LUI grant for the planning efforts needed to support the development of educational programming at their new West End Compost Hub. For over 20 years, two adjacent vacant lots in Providence’s West End neighborhood have remained empty – attracting illegal dumping. GWRI is leading the state-funded remediation process to turn the brownfield-designated area into a medium-scale composting facility that will process food scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost. GWRI’s West End Compost Hub will be a vital community resource that will provide community education on climate resilience, composting benefits, urban agriculture, and brownfield remediation. Community partners and residents will collaborate on the best tactics for engagement and outreach to ensure it develops into a welcoming space for residents, businesses, schools, and other local stakeholders to utilize and cultivate.

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