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
Sharing Short-Term Deliverables
When Resolution No. 250396 established the Vacant Land Activation Initiative, it broke the process into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. After several months of work, the short-term goals phase has officially been completed. The report below shares information about the short-term deliverables, research, and findings related to vacant land activation. It is organized into seven sections:
- Executive Summary
- Barrier Identification
- Policies and Procedures Review
- Land Bank and KCMHA Staff Considerations
- Data Collection and Inventory Management
- Administrative Changes
- Closing Summary and Next Steps
Click the link below to view the report.
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