Vacant Lot Reduction Strategy

Decades of disinvestment and structural racism have led to high concentrations of City-owned vacant land on the South and West sides of Chicago. The practices of urban renewal, contract buying, and the building of large highways displaced Black and Brown communities and cut off access to resources and wealth. This has contributed to the proliferation of neighborhood blight, reduction of community safety, and hindering of neighborhood vitality.

Learning from lessons of the past, the City aims to support communities in putting its 10,000 vacant lots back into productive use, driven by the values of transparency, justice, community leadership, and transformation. A first step is a new website and land sales program that will facilitate community ownership of land. ChiBlockBuilder will allow residents and developers to quickly and easily identify city lots that are for sale and be guided through a clear sales process with up-front expectations and associated costs.

Vacant land presents an opportunity for residents to drive the direction of their neighborhoods. The new land sales program will attract local investment, give local residents greater control over vacant land in their neighborhood, build wealth in communities, and ensure land gets put to productive use in a community-driven and equitable manner.