City’s Vacant Lots Program Criticized For Selling To Outside Developers

community garden vacant lot
Flickr
community garden vacant lot
Flickr

City’s Vacant Lots Program Criticized For Selling To Outside Developers

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Homeowners, block clubs and developers can buy vacant lots in Chicago for just $1 through the city’s Large Lots program.

Launched in 2014, the city acquired many of these lots through tax delinquencies and demolition liens. Some have been turned into gardens, children’s parks and public spaces. Still, critics say the land should go to community members who can maintain the land, not out-of-town developers who sometimes neglect the properties.

Freelance journalist Nona Tepper joins the Morning Shift to talk about Large Lots and the friction its caused between developers and community members.

GUEST: Nona Tepper, freelance journalist

LEARN MORE: The Collateral Damage of $1 Vacant Lots (Chicago Magazine 11/19/18)