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Disconnected Parks Systems

The Overbrook Environmental Education Center developed a vacant lot transformation program called Disconnected Parks Systems to transform vacant lots into at least a dozen types of “Designer Lots” (the City of Philadelphia calls these “Lotscapes”) or combinations thereof. Some of our lot designs include: Cooling Lot; Fit Lot; Playful Learning Lot; Environmental Monitoring Lot; Renewable Energy Lot; Edible Landscape Lot; Pollinator Lot; Calming Lot; and Stormwater Management Lot. Collectively, the system of designer lots in a community provides lifts in environmental, ecological, and recreational assets and provides opportunities to tell community-wide stories that engage & educate the community and audiences beyond the immediate community.

Four garden blueprints

OEEC has developed a customized process for vacant lot transformation Identification and Prioritization. Lots are prioritized for limited funding through a lot assessment matrix.

Lot Assessment Matrix showing what characteristics factor into lot choices

Beyond lot identification and prioritization, the remaining phases of our process are: Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships; Design & Stakeholder Feedback; Funding & Revitalization.

A meeting with several people sitting at tables and several people standing. One standing person is gesturing at a presentation on a TV.

Revitalization includes: cleaning & greening; lot maintenance; operating lots with active reuse; and utilizing the lots as educational assets for further community engagement.

Benefits of revitalized lots include: reduced violence; increased sense of community pride & “ownership”; and improved physical & mental health.