A nonprofit is working with Baltimore City to preserve Baltimore's parks by allowing qualified land trusts to purchase city-owned land for $1 per lot.
There are 13,000 vacant lots in Baltimore City, about half of which are owned by the city, says Miriam Avins, founder of Baltimore Green Space.
The nonprofit's partnership with the city will allow Baltimore Green Space to take over two sites on behalf of community organizations. One is the horseshoe pit in Pigtown and the other is land at the intersection of North Avenue and Barclay, to be used as a sitting garden.
"We respond to what neighborhoods want to do," Avins says.
The system works by somebody in a neighborhood first submitting an application to preserve a piece of land and identifying a volunteer who can oversee the site.
Baltimore Green Space then works with the volunteer to help the neighborhood preserve the land for, say, a garden or a park.
Baltimore Green Space's land transaction committee takes a first look at the property and does a due diligence screening. The land trust then acquires the land and connects the community organizations with the resources needed to preserve it.
For instance, an association in Upper Fells Point wanted to add some greenery in an alley behind a garden. If Baltimore Green Space didn't own it, the city would have repaved the alley.
"It helps make sure the decision reflects the desire of the neighborhood," Avins says.
The nonprofit is holding an informational session Oct. 26 at the Parks & People Foundation.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source Miriam Avins, Baltimore Green Space