Bring Vacant Lots to LIFE: Help us identify barriers to activating vacant lots.
We know there are real challenges to using vacant land—this is your chance to help us tackle them.
Kansas City is home to thousands of vacant and underused lots - many sitting empty for years. These lots represent missed opportunities for housing, jobs, green space, and neighborhood pride. We want to change that - but we need your help.
This survey is one of the first steps in understanding the real barriers people face when trying to bring these spaces to life. Whether it's turning a lot into affordable housing, a community garden, or a public gathering space, your input will help us identify what's getting in the way and how we can fix it.
What we're doing
We're launching a Vacant Land Activation Initiative to make it easier for residents, developers, and community groups to transform vacant land. This work is happening in phases:
- Listen - Gather input through surveys and community conversations.
- Understand - Identify the challenges and opportunities from what we hear.
- Act - Recommend and implement administrative changes to reduce barriers and support more activation.
Why now?
On May 15, 2025, the City Council passed Resolution 250396, sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley, to formally launch this initiative. The resolution outlines the focus areas, phases of work, and our commitment to community engagement - especially in neighborhoods most impacted by vacancy.
We hope you'll take a few minutes to share your experience and ideas. Together, we can bring vacant lots back to life.
How You Can Participate:
✅ Review the draft strategic plan below and submit a comment with your feedback!
To ask specific questions about this survey or Resolution 250396, please contact Andy Savastino at andy.savastino@kcmo.org.
Phases
Identifying Barriers to Using Vacant Land
This survey is part of Phase 1 of Kansas City's Vacant Land Activation Initiative.
We know that turning vacant land into something meaningful, like homes, gardens, or community spaces isn't easy. Many people, from neighbors to organizations, to developers into barriers that make it feel nearly impossible to bring these spaces back to life. That's why we want to hear from you.
This survey is designed to identify the biggest legal, financial, procedural, and administrative roadblocks people face when trying to develop vacant lots. Whether you've tried it yourself, supported a project, or are just interested in seeing change, your insight will help us design better tools and policies to make vacant land easier to activate.
This survey takes 5-15 minutes to complete. It's the first step in a larger effort to build solutions rooted in community input.
This effort is part of the Kansas City Vacant Land Activation Initiative, launched by the City Council through Resolution 250396 and sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley.
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: September 25th, 2025 at 9:00 PM to September 26th, 2025 at 12:00 AM.
Gregg/Klice Community Center
17 registrants