Communities that want to support DIY activity in the urban environment might start by identifying the spaces they have available for intervention. Planners can begin by using Geographic Information Systems software to identify pieces of land that meet a given set of criteria. This might include zoning designations, whether the lot is vacant, whether it is owned by a public entity, or if it is designated as outdoor or natural space. With this information they can display types of spaces as well as analyze how much land is available and where. They can eventually use these maps to conduct field assessments of sites to understand what’s physically present on the site, what environmental conditions (good or bad) may exist, or whether the site is in an undesirable area or contains dangerous refuse. Most importantly, of course, they can find out whether the users or owners of the space would welcome the DIY-er. From these investigations planners could generate a database of land that could eventually be zoned or otherwise targeted for appropriate DIY intervention.
Public Service Announcement: The following maps are NOT an invitation to encroach on these (often private) lands.
As just one example for one city — Durham, N.C. — we’ve conducted a pilot analysis of the city-county planning department’s parcel-level data. This data includes its current land use, assessed value (for property taxes), and other characteristics of the plot of land. We focused on two broadly defined types of land: vacant space and public or semi-public space. The effort is just a preliminary one. We haven’t physically checked land identified on this map, we haven’t thoroughly analyzed it (e.g. how much land of each type is within downtown), and we haven’t run it by city officials or property owners. The idea is to give you a flavor of just how much possibility exists in our urban spaces and the variety of forms that land may take.
Vacant space included any land that was listed as a vacant use, which we then grouped into several categories: publicly-owned, community service or land held for redevelopment (renewal), outdoor open space, commercial, residential, industrial, utilities, parking, and other. These are themselves aggregations of the city’s much more complex categorization: residential small lot, residential large tract, residential agriculture, etc., and so forth. We haven’t thoroughly investigated how land is categorized and by whom, so we can’t be 100% confident in the accuracy of our interpretations. Nevertheless, the map passed a “common sense” test in which we verified a few sample properties for their uses. As you can see below, downtown Durham has a large amount of vacant land intended for commercial use. Surrounding the core of downtown is a great deal of vacant residential lots as well as vacant land held for community services or future redevelopment. These may include, for example, new public housing developments or expansion plans for Duke University. Altogether, vacant lots in Durham County account for 39% of its total land area: more than 107 square miles.
Vacant lots near downtown Durham, N.C.
An analysis of the “public realm” or semi-public realm was conducted in much the same way. In this case we analyzed land that is currently classified as used for community services, government use, outdoor and recreational open space, land at schools, libraries, and museums, utilities, and parking and private roads. While much of this land is not, in fact, public — it is not owned by a public agency and it is not open to all — much of it is at least reasonably open to the general public. College campuses, public libraries, not-for-profit museums, churches, and schools all often invite visitors into their outdoor spaces. As such, this category represents land commonly used by members of the Durham community within certain limits. Cities could begin to understand how much of this space they have and then identify willing partners for DIY endeavors. In downtown, the bulk of these spaces are made up of government buildings, community facilities, educational campuses, and — of course — surface and structured parking areas. These lands may constitute nearly 8 percent of the county’s land area and more than 21 square miles.
Space in the public or semi-public realm, near downtown Durham, N.C.
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