Sustainable Land Lab Competition

Sustainable Land Lab Competition

By: Megan Gebke

Because the economy is in a recession, many vacant lots have just remained vacant leaving a sore eye to the buildings around it.  St. Louis has around 10,000 parcels that have fallen back to the city’s Land Reutilization Authority.  A competition is being held in Old North Saint Louis to come up with an idea for six different lots called the land lab conducted by Washington University.  The competition is narrowed down to fifteen different ideas.  The winner receives $5,000 and a lease for two years to develop their idea.  One of the finalists, Josi Nielsen, wants to develop a series of greenhouses, in which the products will be dispersed throughout the community dining establishments.  “We looked at St. Louis through the lens of our having so many vacant lots,” Nielsen said. “It’s a terrible thing, but we have this amazing stock here that if we can shift our perspective, this becomes a great advantage.”  The vacant lots may be a site for sore eyes now, but it allows the chance to redevelop that area while everything around it is redeveloping and adapting.  It is about using the areas where people have given up on and transforming them to a positive use for the community.  Creating something that attracts people allows for the buildings around it, which may be vacant, to get potential owners and before you know it, the whole block is being occupied. 

The main landmark of Old North St. Louis that has withstood the economy and all the depleted buildings and land is Crown Candy Kitchen.  People would go get their milkshakes and take off as fast as possible to get out of the neighborhood.  Buildings around Crown Candy Kitchen began to become occupied and now people are more likely to walk down the street and look to see what else there is.  Also, around the area, they have made a better use of the vacant lots and cleaned them up with paved sidewalks and benches. 
                The land lab competition is meant to find a creative temporary application to make it an asset to the surrounding community as the community begins to get back on its feet.  “As neighborhoods like this continue to grow and develop, there may be a demand for construction or longer-term uses, but in the meantime, you’d like to see something nice here.”

Articles:

https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28825/temporary_transformation_of_lots_011012

https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28764/vacant_lots_010713