A program to cleanup vacant lots and turn them into a source run by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was given kudos recently by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson toured formerly abandoned sites and saw how they have been converted from rubble to green spaces lush with grass and shade trees and in some cases green corridors.

The tour was hosted by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society which created the vacant land program as part of its Green City Strategy.

One of the key advantages of investments in greening and in vacant land management is that it increases property values by as much as 30 percent.

This fact was reported in "The Determinants of Neighborhood Transformation in Philadelphia - Identification and Analysis,” a study undertaken by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Real Estate Department with support from the William Penn Foundation to look at revitalization strategies and their impact on neighborhoods.

The program started as a greening program to renew small spaces in neighborhoods, one step-at-a-time. Now PHS has added a storm water management component, turning spaces that were neighborhood eyesores into places that now beautify the neighborhood, also providing shade and environmental benefits.

The Philadelphia Vacant Land Management & Reclamation program will be featured at theWhite House Conference on Cooperative Conservation at the end of August.

To learn more about the program, visit the Green City Strategy webpage.

8/12/2005