From Vacant to Vibrant: City of Philadelphia Celebrates Earth Week by Launching New Lotscapes Initiative

PHILADELPHIA - In celebration of Earth Week, today the City of Philadelphia announced the new "Lotscapes" pilot program to transform publicly owned vacant lots into community assets. Based on the recommendations of the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives' Clean & Green Cabinet and 10-Point Greening Plan, Lotscapes brings City, community, and nonprofit partners together to design and build neighborhood spaces. Working in partnership with City Council, the Philadelphia Land Bank, and a network of community-based organizations, this first year will include 10 Lotscapes in multiple Council Districts with plans to scale across the city.

To commemorate the Lotscapes initiative, Future Track trainees worked alongside the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) to transform the vacant lot at 3230 W. Diamond Street into a clean and beautiful space as a preview of the types of transformations that are to come. This lot has historically been an illegal dumping site for trash and litter. Future Track trainees who have been trained by the PHS worked to restore and enhance the space. These trainees have successfully completed green stormwater infrastructure training and earned 40 hours of PHS horticultural experience, including LandCare maintenance and tree care. Work completed at the lot included clearing out weeds and debris, rebuilding planter boxes and installing pollinator species to not only refurbish what previously existed but expand the pollinator garden footprint in the lot. The trainees also assisted in painting the fence and removing debris piles that had been illegally dumped here prior to this project.

"We are not accepting vacant, blighted lots as the status quo in Philadelphia," said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. "Through Lotscapes, we're transforming these spaces into places that improve safety, health, and quality of life-delivering real results people can see, touch, and feel in neighborhoods across our city."

A testament to collaboration, multiple City departments are working alongside community-based organizations in a yearlong civic innovation process facilitated by the City's Innovation Team (i-Team) and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies to develop collaborative solutions to complex challenges. With over 40,000 vacant lots in Philadelphia-including 8,000 publicly owned-the Lotscapes initiative aims to address illegal dumping, reduce violent crime, and improve physical and mental health with place-based solutions. Beyond the initial pilot phase, the City and partners aim to scale the program in 2027 and beyond to make it easier for community-based organizations to secure access to and transform vacant land into usable community and vibrant assets.

"The Lotscapes Program embodies an intergovernmental, collaborative approach that is the new standard for operating in the City of Philadelphia," said Carlton Williams, Director, Office of Clean & Green Initiatives. "As part of the 'One Philly, A United City' initiative, driven by Mayor Parker, we are working across City departments and with community partners, to make a concerted effort to green and activate vacant lots across Philadelphia. Lotscapes is a creative response to address illegal dumping and make community improvements in these underutilized spaces."

The Office of Clean & Green Initiatives, Department of Public Property (DPP), Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Law Department, Philadelphia Land Bank, Department of Planning & Development, and i-Team joined forces to improve the process for community-based organizations to identify, secure legal access to, and activate publicly owned vacant lots.

"We continue to support qualified nonprofits who are seeking sustainable stewardship," said Angel Rodriguez, Executive Director, Philadelphia Land Bank. "The Lotscapes Program represents a heightened level of interdepartmental coordination improving, our open space and garden application processes."

"To empower local nonprofits and partners with design and implementation resources, we are piloting community-based transformations of vacant lots," said Joe Brasky, Commissioner, Department of Public Property. "DPP supports community engagement and investment. We have teamed up with Lotscapes to create a vision to put our vacant lots to better use with a goal of improving the legal process for stakeholders to activate and maintain these spaces."

Improving Physical & Mental Health
One notable site of a future Lotscape is the Strawberry Mansion Health Center, which serves around 200 residents each day. With over 1,700 publicly owned vacant lots, Strawberry Mansion has the highest concentration of vacant land in the City-a remnant of the redlining, disinvestment, and housing demolitions that took place across the 1960s. This summer, the Strawberry Mansion Health Center will bring residents and community organizations together alongside health center staff in a participatory design process to design and build site activations.

"Strawberry Mansion has a rich history with a strong sense of belonging and neighborhood pride," says Tonnetta Graham, President and CEO, Strawberry Mansion CDC. "These spaces will bring people together to stay connected, build community and celebrate our neighborhood heroes and life's everyday moments."

"The Health Department understands that easy access to primary care is a key component of a full, healthy life. Strawberry Mansion Health Center has been providing that care, and so much more, to the community for years. But we also understand that health is about more than just a doctor's appointment. It's about building and engaging with community. It's about getting outside and engaging in programming," said Palak Raval-Nelson, Ph.D., MPH, Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Public Health. "This Lotscape is another step towards our goal of healing the entire person."

"Health is about healing mind and body and bringing people together in fellowship," said Darnell Wilkerson, Director, Strawberry Mansion Health Center. "With building renovations underway, we want our outdoor space to reflect our welcoming spirit as well. This new Lotscape can become a safe haven-a place of joy for our patients, our neighbors, and health center staff. We look forward to this opportunity to partner with so many City departments and our Strawberry Mansion neighbors to bring our vision to life."

Reducing Illegal Dumping
The Office of Clean and Green Initiatives is working to raise awareness of and to combat illegal dumping in target zip codes in West Philadelphia. With support provided through a grant from the William Penn Foundation, community partners are transforming a massive former brown field on Lancaster Avenue after a monumental cleanup involving the removal of 1,400 tons of steel, 280 tons of debris, and 52 tons of trash. The site's future as a community landmark includes renewable energy, eco-friendly stormwater management, new trees, planters, and public art to turn a vacant lot into a vibrant neighborhood asset.

Workforce Development
In the Fall of 2025, the Office of Clean and Green began a new training initiative aimed at supporting placement into entry-level "green" jobs through its new Green Infrastructure Maintenance occupational track of the Future Track Program. Participants in the 40-hour training series received hands-on instruction in the fundamentals of horticulture and landscaping from instructors from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).

"At the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, our mission is to use horticulture to advance the health and well-being of the region, and workforce development is a critical part of how we deliver on that commitment. Through our training program, Future Track trainees gain hands-on experience in landscaping, horticulture, and green stormwater infrastructure, building the skills needed for meaningful, long-term careers. Just as importantly, they are applying those skills in real time, transforming vacant lots into green community spaces. This work demonstrates how investing in people and place can create lasting impact for neighborhoods across Philadelphia," said Matt Rader, President, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Creating Connections
The Lotscapes initiative builds on longstanding community partnerships in Southwest and West Philadelphia developed by Deeply Rooted, a community-academic collaborative based at Penn Medicine's Center for Health Justice - Urban Health Lab. Deeply Rooted seeks to leverage the healing power of nature to promote health and well-being in Black and Brown Philadelphia neighborhoods. Using Deeply Rooted's proven community greening process to expand green infrastructure in historically disinvested neighborhoods, the partnership leverages funding from Penn Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and The William Penn Foundation to co-design and implement with the community two mini-parks and a green node site, which are part of a broader greening network. By layering resources, communities can create more efficient cost-sharing models for maintenance, capacity building, and programming.

Bringing Community Visions to Life
Over the next several months, the City will continue working with its community partners and engaging residents to design the Lotscapes with the goal of implementing the projects within 2026.

The Lotscapes initiative conforms to the community's wants and needs in collaboration with our community partners and organizations on the ground. Resident engagement is a core part of the design process, which includes visioning, co-creation, and community build days. Potential activations include greenscapes such as planters, rain gardens, or even a small orchard; playscapes to create safe, family-friendly spaces; socialscapes that offer seating, shade, or tables for gathering; and artscapes that celebrate community through creativity.

"There is a deep and textured history of vacant lots in Philadelphia. We're honored to be working with such strong community partners, who work tirelessly to serve their residents and invest in their neighborhoods," said Kristie Chin, Director, Innovation Team. "By bringing together legal, design, and implementation resources, we are ensuring that the community's voice is at the forefront of every project."

To bring the community visions to life, Lotscapes encompasses a robust bench of engagement, design, and implementation partners, including Deeply Rooted, Hinge Collective, Mural Arts, Neighborhood Gardens Trust, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), Thomas Jefferson University's 'Park in a Truck' program, and Tiny WPA. The City is leveraging $280,000 with additional philanthropic funding from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation and the William Penn Foundation.