CITIES ACROSS THE NATION ARE FACED WITH DECLINING POPULATIONS, INCREASED VACANCY, AND DECREASED TAX REVENUES. DESPITE THESE CHALLENGES, CLEVELAND IS SWELLING WITH INNOVATIVE, ENTREPRENEURIAL, HARDWORKING HEROES EAGER TO TRANSFORM THEIR COMMUNITY, TURNING VACANCY INTO OPPORTUNITY.
Supported by a strong, citywide, public non-profit partnership, and hundreds of residents, ReImagining Cleveland is a vacant land reuse initiative that creates sustainable solutions to vacancy while building a movement of solidarity and stewardship.
ReImagining Cleveland views vacant land as a raw asset. The alternative land use strategies employed in this initiative return vacant land to productive use in ways that complement the City of Cleveland’s long-term development objectives and empowers residents to reclaim their neighborhoods, become ambassadors for their communities, and start regaining a sense of pride and value.
ReImagining Cleveland’s innovative land reuse projects include vineyards, orchards, market gardens, pocket parks, and stream bed reconstruction projects within the City of Cleveland. The initiative also enables Cleveland residents to acquire vacant lots adjacent to their homes, helping to stabilize property values and making our streets safer, more enjoyable places to call home.
In 2012, ReImagining Cleveland was recognized for its collaborative effort and non-traditional approach to greening Cleveland’s neighborhoods with a National Planning Excellence Award for Innovation in Sustaining Places from the American Planning Association.
At this time, we are not accepting applications for ReImagining Cleveland grants.
Read the Ideas to Actions Resource Guide
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PARTNERS
- City of Cleveland
- LAND Studio
- Ohio State University’s Cuyahoga County Agricultural Extension Service
- Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative
- U.S. EPA Region Five
- Ohio EPA
- Cleveland State University, History Department
- Cleveland State University, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
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FUNDERS
- City of Cleveland, Department of Community Development
- The Cleveland Foundation
- The George Gund Foundation
- The Nord Family Foundation
- The Surdna Foundation
- MTD Products