Since 2009 Re-imagining Cleveland has supported innovative land use strategies such as community gardens, market gardens, vineyards, orchards, neighbor and pocket parks, as well as soil remediation projects, neighborhood pathways, and side yard expansion. In 2012 Re-imagining Cleveland was recognized for its non-traditional approaches to vacant land reuse with a National Planning Excellence Award for Innovation in Sustaining Places from the American Planning Association. Fifty-four projects, comprising Round one were photographed on an ongoing basis beginning in 2009. Documentation continued up to and including twenty-seven Round three sites in summer and fall of 2014 and is ongoing.
In addition to the involvement of local residents, community groups and community development corporations, partners in Re-imagining Cleveland include the following: City of Cleveland, LAND Studio, Ohio State University’s Cuyahoga County Agricultural Extension Service, Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, U.S. EPA Region Five, Ohio EPA, Cleveland State University History Department, Cleveland State University, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. Funders include City of Cleveland, Department of Community Development, The Surdna Foundation, Wells Fargo via The U.S. Department of Justice, the Nord Family Foundation and The Cuyahoga County Land Bank.
For further information about Re-imagining Cleveland, including available publications, see the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Website: http://www.clevelandnp.org/
