Vacant Lot Greening as a Long-Term Investment in Legacy Cities?

Philadelphia’s LandCare Program, initiated in the mid‑1990s by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, presents a scalable and cost‑effective approach to addressing urban vacancy and blight through the transformation of neglected lots into maintained green space. This paper reviews the historical context of land vacancy in Philadelphia and charts the development of LandCare from localized pilot efforts to a citywide program integrated into the city’s planning goals. It examines the procedures of vacant lot remediation, outlines the program’s operational and maintenance costs, and presents before-and-after visual evidence of neighborhood change. Two empirical analyses evaluate the program’s economic impacts: one estimates the amenity value capitalized into nearby property prices, and the other explores how greening can reduce time in vacancy by facilitating vacant lot investment. The paper concludes with policy recommendations focusing on funding sustainability, inter-agency coordination, and the removal of legal and administrative barriers of land reuse. The Philadelphia experience offers valuable insights for other post-industrial legacy cities aiming to turn vacant land into a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization and long-term resilience.