Seed A Lot: Sidewalk Share

In addition to adding beauty and vegetation to a barren landscape, the Seed A Lot: Sidewalk Share project serves several social, economic, and ecological purposes. Socially, the addition of trees and green landscapes on underutilized, barren lots creates “tree equity” in communities that lag behind the average tree canopy in the city. Tree equity in cities is important because of the positive benefits green landscapes have on the psyche and the economic effect generated by the addition of trees to the urban landscape.

There is a positive correlation between the tree canopy density of an area and the value of the property in which the tree canopies exist. Ecologically, this project attracts pollinators to ensure the persistence of vegetation in the community, sequesters carbon from the air, produces oxygen, and mitigates the Urban Heat Island Effect via evaporative cooling.

The Big Idea is that community members and property owners can begin to tackle underutilized spaces by applying innovative landscapes and unique approaches to activating these spaces. The scale and intensity can also range to fit a constituent’s budget. Both large, dynamic and simple, cost & labor effective strategies can have relatively immediate transformative effects on urban landscapes following Omni Ecosystems lead.

This intervention is a springboard and proof of concept that serves to inform a broader investigation, analysis, and generation of a written and graphic framework plan. The impetus for this plan is to scale similar solutions across a variety of open lot conditions in Grand Boulevard, Bronzeville, Chicago, and beyond. This project is also emphatic of Omni’s mission to improve resiliency in the built environment and empower healthier, happier humans.

Seed A Lot: Sidewalk Share opened to the public on September 17, 2021.

Click for a downloadable copy of ”SEED A LOT: SIDEWALK SHARE, CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL 2021.”