Philadelphia Land Stewards Union

Iglesias Gardens is building the Philadelphia Land Stewards Union, an organization of neighbors who use and care for vacant lots working together to solve our problems. Sign our April 2026 petition to City Council here.

VACANT LOTS REFLECT A PAINFUL, RACIST HISTORY

  • Philadelphia has ~40,000 vacant lots concentrated in low-income and majority non-white neighborhoods, many of which faced redlining by the Federal Housing Administration and less investment as a result.
  • When vacant lots aren’t stewarded, they become abandoned spaces for trash, crime, and rodents. They make residents feel unsafe and unhappy about their neighborhood.

LAND STEWARDS MAKE NEIGHBORHOODS STRONGER

  • According to our surveys, ⅓ of vacant lots in Philadelphia are stewarded by community members. That’s over 13,000 lots! Neighbors use vacant land as side yards, gardens, playgrounds, gathering spaces, dog parks, memorials, chicken coops, casitas, swimming pools, and more.
  • Cleaning and greening vacant lots reduces gun violence and neighborhood crime; combats flooding and hot summer temperatures; and increases property values without driving displacement.

STEWARDS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES ARE AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT

  • Most land stewards do not have ownership or legal access to their land. This puts them at risk of displacement, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods. North Philly has lost 34% of its Black residents since 2000 and Norris Square has lost 13% of its Latino residents since 2013.
  • The City owns most at-risk green spaces or has the power to acquire them through the Philadelphia Land Bank, meaning they have a central role to play in preservation.

HOW WE’RE FIGHTING BACK: We want to see the people who live around vacant land have a say in what happens to it. We’re tired of seeing green spaces get destroyed to build houses we can’t afford. We have come together as a group to demand:

  1. RECOGNIZE LAND STEWARDS
  • Pass a city council resolution to recognize the work of land stewards and the need for long-term preservation of stewarded land. 

2. MAKE THE LAND BANK TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE  

  • Expand the city’s public dashboards to include all publicly-owned land, the status and type of applications for those properties, and real-time acquisition and disposition statistics.
  • Adhere to already existing notification and processing timelines for Land Bank applications.
  • Post physical notice on vacant lots when they are first included in a development proposal.
  • Dedicate specific staff to manage garden and side yard applications and educate community members.
  • Instead of evicting longtime stewards on city land, offer leases and other pathways to preservation.

3. PRIORITIZE LAND FOR COMMUNITIES OVER OUTSIDE DEVELOPERS

  • Create a 180-day window for neighbors to have preferential rights in applying for vacant land before opening properties to competitive bid.
  • Expand side yard program eligibility to homeowners and long-term renters within a 1,500 ft radius of a vacant lot.
  • Expand city tax assistance programs for homeowners to include stewarded lots.

If you are interested in getting involved or learning more, please fill out our contact form.

We rely on member dues and supporter donations to sustain our organizing. If you’d like to support the union, you can donate to our project fund. Thank you!