The City of Detroit, along with nonprofit organization Greening of Detroit, will plant tens of thousands of trees in two, quarter-square-mile vacant city spaces to demonstrate how greening strategies can improve life in the city.
The city’s goals for the program include creating jobs for city residents as landscape workers, reducing air pollution, and minimizing stormwater and snowmelt runoff. Vacant lots will either be planted with trees or given some other green features, such as rainwater gardens, flowers, or urban farms.
City officials said they will decide what will be done with each space after getting buy-in from nearby residents. Philanthropic organizations will fund the initiative.
A city official says that the effort is expected to boost property values in the city. Detroit has an estimated 20-30 square miles of vacant space.
Related Stories
Green | Apr 14, 2015
USGBC will recognize energy and water standards for the Living Building Challenge
This move means that projects achieving the energy and water requirements in Living Building Challenge will be considered as technically equivalent to LEED.
Green | Apr 7, 2015
USGBC survey shows Fortune 200 companies prioritize green building
The world’s top-performing companies are prioritizing sustainability as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts, and a majority of them are using LEED to achieve their goals, according to the new survey.
Codes and Standards | Apr 6, 2015
DOE releases Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines
The guidelines are aimed at strengthening and streamlining commercial building workforce training and certification programs for workers in energy auditing, building commissioning, building operations, and energy management.
Green | Apr 3, 2015
Georgia may ban use of LEED on state buildings
Georgia's state legislature is considering a measure to require all state buildings to only use green building standards that permit the use of Georgia's lumber.
Green | Apr 3, 2015
Energy benchmarking law helps make D.C. top ranked Energy Star city
First-in-the-nation law requires public reporting of annual energy performance
Green | Apr 1, 2015
Global wind power installations expected to slow through 2019
After a 20% falloff in 2013, the global wind power industry made a strong comeback in 2014, with a record 51.2 gigawatts installed. But a new report from Navigant Research forecasts a curtailment in growth.
Codes and Standards | Mar 29, 2015
Elevator shafts a major source of heat loss in New York City
A typical New York apartment building loses thousands of dollars worth of energy every year from leaky elevator shafts that vent warm air at the top of the building and draw in cold air at the bottom, according to a new Urban Green Council report.
Green | Mar 29, 2015
Passive House Institute launches ‘cost-effective’ passive building standard
The group says the building energy performance target is in the “sweet spot” where cost effectiveness overlaps with aggressive energy and carbon reduction.
Sponsored | Walls and Partitions | Mar 25, 2015
Metl-Span systems meet design needs in cost effective manner
The goal from the beginning was to construct an energy efficient building with insulated metal panels.
Green | Mar 25, 2015
WELL Building Standard introduced in China
The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
