Graduate Center for Social and Public
Policy
Duquesne University's Graduate Center for Social
and Public Policy proposes to undertake a demonstration
project to return two or three vacant lots in
Uptown to a self-sustaining natural state, and
to use the demonstration to gain understanding
about the administrative, cultural, social, and
natural impediments to a sustainable solution
to the problem of vacant lots in city neighborhoods.
The concept to be explored is neither flower beds
planted with annuals (which the Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy does so beautifully on important corners
in neighborhoods throughout Pittsburgh), nor is
it community gardens, which exist in many neighborhoods
of Pittsburgh, including both the Hill District
and Uptown. Rather, this project will test a use
that requires far less labor than either of those.
It will seek to assist nature by introducing and
establishing native plant species that are appropriate
for this climate and setting, and then allow nature
to do its work of selecting and later maintaining
those species that adapt best to the environment.
Benefits of trees and other vegetation in urban
areas is well documented. In its The State of
the Urban Forest (September 1997) American Forests
summarized, When urban forests are healthy, they
provide communities with many valuable services
that can be measured in dollar benefits. The value
of trees for stormwater management is a good example.
Trees slow stormwater runoff and reduce peak flows.
Additional ecological values produced by urban
forests including improved air and water quality,
energy conservation, and wildlife habitat enhancementincrease
the importance of maintaining and restoring the
natural infrastructure of our communities.
Dr. Evan Stoddard, an expert in brownfields
development, will oversee this project. Dr. Sue
A. Thompson, Interim Executive Director of the
Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Partnership, will
serve as a consultant on the project.
Sequence of Tasks
The first task will be to engage the Uptown
community in a full discussion of the concepts
behind this proposal. Some discussion has occurred
already, in the context of the 2000 Uptown Town
Meeting, at which Dr. Stoddard led the working
group on beautification. In that meeting and at
other times there has been widespread concern
in the community for the lack of vegetation and
a desire for more trees and a greener environment.
These general concerns need further discussion,
however, and options need to be explored in terms
of specific sites.
A task that will follow from those discussions
will be to select and gain license to work on
sites in the community appropriate for the demonstration.
Ideally, those will include both a typical lot
or two in a residential area, and a larger, more
prominent, lot on one of the traffic arteries
through Uptown, either Forbes or Fifth Avenues.
These tasks will take place over the summer and
fall of 2000.
During the fall we will focus on soil condition.
If there is grading that needs to be done, we
will do it. We will consider whether or not to
fence the properties (probably not), and undertake
education to try to insure that the neighbors
understand that we really will not be growing
weeds, and that what they see is a necessary step
to a final outcome that will be much better. We
will then work with the city to deposit fall leaves
and wood chips on the lots, or in other ways try
to improve surface soil conditions. Volunteers
from Duquesne or the community may be helpful
in executing this task.
Over the winter we will identify types and sources
of seed and prepare for planting in the spring.
We will think carefully about what the initial
planting should be, and consider both natural
and artificial succession.
We will plant in early spring, then we will wait
anxiously to see what happens. We will do damage
control as needed, responding both to problems
on the properties and possible complaints from
neighbors or others. At the end of the season
we will see what has happened. We will check carefully
to see what has taken root, and take appropriate
action for the following growing season.
Products to be Developed and Impact
Objectives
We hope that at the end of two years we will
have two or three lots on their way to becoming
forests again, but of course we will have to watch
for fifteen years or so to determine if we have
really made progress. Collateral products will
be a citizenry better educated about the benefits
of trees in the neighborhood, more requests for
street trees and private actions to plant private
yards and gardens.
Another important product will be findings from
the demonstration that can guide public policy
for neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and elsewhere.
We hope that others will follow the progress of
our trial with interest, and learn along with
us how we can engage natural processes and materials
to beautify urban neighborhoods, improve their
environment, and make them more livable.
Given the nature of the project, it will be
impossible to measure the final outcome of the
project after only two years. All that will be
possible is to measure success in meeting the
intermediate objectives suggested above. The benefits
of cleaner air, lower temperature, and so forth,
will come later. Research proves that, but those
benefits will only come if an approach such as
this is successful over a much longer time and
on a much broader scale.
Duplication and Appropriateness
No other organization in Pittsburgh is attempting
what Duquesne is proposing with this project.
As noted above, other organizations are concerned
with vacant lots, and have developed a limited
number for flower beds or gardens, but to our
knowledge no one has tried a sustainable solution
that could be implemented on a large scale at
small cost, such as we are proposing.
The activity is appropriate to universitiesmission
to seek and disseminate new knowledge, in this
case knowledge about a significant and widespread
urban problem in the United States. Of course,
in this case, in the process of seeking knowledge
about how to address this problem Duquesne plans
to improve a particular urban neighborhood near
the university itself.
Contact: Dr.
Evan Stoddard or call 396-5179
Project
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