Working with Lots Grant Program

Working with Lots Grant Program is sponsored by Detroit Future City. This program offers grants to organizations looking to implement specific lot designs from DFC's Field Guide to transform vacant lots into attractive and useful public spaces that positively impact neighborhoods through community-minded activities and sustainability efforts.

Detroit Future City Working with Lots Program 2020 | Detroit Future City Working With Lots Program Working With Lots Program View the Field Guide to Working with Lots Detroit Future City’s (DFC) Working with Lots Program accelerated vacant land revitalization in Detroit using the Field Guide to Working with Lots. The program ran from 2015-2020 and had three components: an annual grant program, workshop series, and maintenance program.

The Working with Lots Program encouraged Detroiters to install one of 38 lot designs to activate community spaces, beautify neighborhoods and address increased rainfall through green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) practices. The Working with Lots Grant Program was funded by the Erb Family Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Bank of America, General Motors, and Gilbert Family Foundation.

The Field Guide to Working with Lots and its associated workbook remain an important tool to inspire community groups, faith-based institutions, nonprofits, small businesses to activate vacant land with the creation of intentional greenspaces. If your organization is interested in creating greenspace in Detroit, we would love to talk and see how we can support.

Reach out to DFC’s Land Use & Design Team at: landuse_sustainabilityteam@detroitfuturecity. com Working with Lots Grantees, Round 5 Click to read the full press release In 2020, Detroit Future City (DFC) awarded over $50,000 in grants to eight Detroit-based organizations to support transforming vacant Detroit land into well-maintained landscapes. This was DFC’s fifth round of Working with lots grants.

Since beginning its Working with Lots Program in 2016, DFC awarded grants to 50 different organizations. Bryden Central Block Club Emerald Isles Community Development Corporation Northend Christian Community Development Corporation Click on an organization to learn more about them and their WWL project.

Take a look at all the local lot implementations here The Working with Lots program awarded its first cohort of grantees in 2016, with installations taking place throughout the city of Detroit. Through 2020, DFC re-granted over $380,000 in communities and vacant land transformation through the Working with Lots Program. Click below to learn more about past Working with Lots grantees.

Working with Lots Grantees – 2019 Working with Lots Grantees – 2018 Working with Lots Grantees – 2017 Working with Lots Grantees – 2016 Meet the 2020 Working with Lots Grantees Located in the East Davison Village neighborhood, 20 Books, Inc. is a community-based nonprofit that uses literacy and blight clean-ups to grow and support the community.

They will implement the Side Lot Solutions lot designs, which will transform three separate sites within a half-mile radius. View the Side Lot Solutions lot design here. [] From a food pantry to clothing donation, Auntie Na’s House has been a huge support system for the Westside community for a long time.

This year, they are using their grant to implement the Mounds of Fun lot design , which uses topography to create a fun, interactive area for kids of all ages. View the Mounds of Fun lot design packet. [] Bryden Central Block Club Located in Detroit’s District 6, the Bryden Central Block Club empowers its community through insightful workshops and events related to environmental and political issues.

They will implement a custom lot design that will address the need for outdoor recreational space. View more WWL lot design packets. [] Canfield Consortium is a community group that continues to improve the East Canfield community in becoming a flourishing and economically-sound neighborhood.

Returning to the program for the third year in a row, the group will implement the Forest Patcher lot design , which transforms an existing forested space into a naturalized amenity for the East Canfield community. View the Forest Patcher lot design packet. [] Detroit Hives is a nonprofit that transforms vacant lots into urban bee farms.

They will implement the Perennial Propagator lot design , a show-stopping display that hosts dozens of perennial flowers that spread and can be divided for other projects. View the Perennial Propagator lot design packet.

[] Emerald Isles Community Development Corporation Emerald Isles Community Development Corporation is a community development organization driven towards environmental quality, protection, and beautification in MorningSide. They will implement the Perennial Propagator lot design , a show-stopping display that hosts dozens of perennial flowers that spread and can be divided for other projects.

View the Perennial Propagator lot design packet. [] The Mushroom Factory grows gourmet fungus-based foods for restaurants and farmers’ markets. This small business on Detroit’s Eastside will implement the Storm Soaker lot design , which uses engineering and natural elements to manage Detroit’s increased rainfall onto the cement.

View the Storm Soaker lot design packet. [] Northend Christian Community Development Corporation Northend Christian Community Development Corporation is a community development organization that continues its work to activating vacant storefronts and extensive urban agricultural projects in the Northend Neighborhood. They are best known for the Oakland Avenue Farmers Market, the first agricultural urban landscape in Detroit’s North End.

They will implement the Perennial Propagator lot design , a show-stopping display that hosts dozens of perennial flowers that spread and can be divided for other projects. View the Perennial Propagator lot design packet. [] The Field Guide to Working with Lots View the full, interactive Field Guide online now.

Detroit Property Owner's Guide to Bioretention Manage stormwater on a non-residential property. Detroit GSI Workforce Assessment An examination of potential economic impact. Detroit Future City Strategic Framework A blueprint of Detroit's future.