We are raising $10,000 to ensure Stewards can fight for vacant land justice in 2021.

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For 13 years, Grounded has worked to improve neighborhood health by reclaiming vacant and neglected land. In Pittsburgh alone, there are over 30,000 vacant lots in need of stewardship, most of which are concentrated in low-income communities of color. In partnership with residents, communities, and supporters like you, we have created over 200 beautification projects across Allegheny County.

But physical transformation solves just one part of the problem. Communities are calling out for justice.

Grounded’s work is growing to address the institutional and structural barriers at the root of our vacant lot issue. We seek to uplift the lived experiences of those affected by divested vacant land. This is the tale of two Pittsburghs; the racial inequities that separate them and the economic lines that divide them.

A Pittsburgh exists where residents and communities have full access to award-winning, nationally recognized green spaces; parks, trails, and gardens. Vacant lots are practically nonexistent, and calls to the City for maintenance to land and structures rarely go unanswered.

A different Pittsburgh exists where vacant lots consume the majority of city blocks. There is limited access to greenspace of any quality, and communities are effectively left on their own to care for their public spaces, even though they pay taxes. Here, the lack of access to open space means lower grades in school for kids, more chronic disease within families, and falling property values for tax rolls.

This is an environmental injustice.

The heroes of this story are people like the Grounded CommunityCare Stewards. Folks like them have been changing lives all across Pittsburgh for years, rain or shine. They generate hope and love for their neighborhoods by transforming vacant lots into well-cared-for spaces for all to play, gather, connect, heal, and learn.

This fight is our fight too.

We all share the responsibility to improve the problem of vacant land in Pittsburgh. Neglected vacant lots deny health and wealth from our neighbors and their families. Stewards and residents who live with vacancy every day should not only have a seat at the table of vacant land justice but an outsized voice and overwhelming influence on the way the asset of vacant land will shape our region for generations to come.

Vacant land justice through policy change is our goal.

But as you know, policy-change is hard work. It takes time, resources, and partnerships. Grounded cannot do it alone, and this is a long fight. We need your support to continue our efforts to improve the landcare system in Pittsburgh – efforts that are creating real change in our most vulnerable communities

We must create a Pittsburgh where all neighborhoods reflect the beauty of the people that live here.

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There are so many ways to support vacant land justice!