NeighborSpace (Chicago)
Chicago, United States · Operator: NeighborSpace
Overview
A Chicago land trust (founded 1996) that secures citizens' otherwise-temporary community gardens permanently by taking title and leasing back at a nominal fee — the 'permanent-protection' end of interim use.
Citizen participation
Acquires title to vacant lots for community groups and leases them back for a nominal fee (e.g. $1/yr); groups need ~3 leaders + 10 stakeholders to qualify.
Operating model
A non-profit land trust founded jointly by the city, park district and county forest preserve, permanently protecting community-garden lots from development.
Impact
A nationally referenced land-tenure model for protecting community gardens from development.
Land tenure
A land trust holds title and leases back to community groups at a nominal fee ($1/yr) for permanent protection.
Crops
- vegetables
- flowers
Scale
約100サイト・23エーカーを保全（2015年時点）。
Sources（1）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
Related cases
Prinzessinnengärten
DEBerlin, Germany
A mobile community garden reviving a vacant lot in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Its DIY container growing and composting made it a flagship example of reusing idle urban land through citizen participation.
prinzessinnengarten.net+2
Glasgow Stalled Spaces
GBGlasgow, United Kingdom
A Glasgow program (since 2011) putting stalled development sites to interim use as citizen gardens, with the city enabling temporary use via short-term leases and grants — a leading overseas example.
glasgow.gov.uk
Hort Indignat de Poblenou (Barcelona)
ESBarcelona, Spain
A self-managed community garden born from the 2011 15-M (Indignados) movement by reclaiming a vacant lot — seen as a symbol of resistance to speculative development and the 'right to the city'.
hortindignat2poblenou.wordpress.com+1
SIO9 (Shioya 9-chome former municipal housing site)
JPKobe (垂水区), Japan
Residents jointly steward a former municipal housing site in Shioya, Tarumi—not private allotments but club-style growing of veg, herbs and grapes with shared harvests and picnics.
city.kobe.lg.jp