Ashoka: Innovators for the Public Community Greens

Community Greens, miniature-size parks hidden among the row houses and alleyways of residential neighborhoods, are collectively owned and managed by the neighbors whose homes and backyards, decks, patios, and balconies enclose the green.  In response to community interest, in 2004, the Maryland General Assembly approved a change in the Baltimore City Charter (HB 1533) that gave the city legal authority to close and lease alleys to homeowners on a block, and to facilitate the creation of the mini-parks.  In April 2007, the Alley Gating and Greening Ordinance was passed, making Baltimore one of the first cities in the country to allow the creation of new community greens through citizen action. The resident-led movement to reclaim open space has a number of social benefits:  residents can convene without fear of outsiders and crime; children can play safely and get the exercise they need; and the green area itself creates a serene, environmentally sustainable area. After alley gating and greening, properties abutting alley greens tend to increase in value by 5%-15%.

With a $49,000 grant from The Abell Foundation, Ashoka’s local staff work with block leaders to unite their neighbors in a common vision for their alleyways.  Residents interested in greening must decide if they want to gate their alleys, leaving the concrete intact, or to gate and green the alleys, and whether they want traffic obstructed.  A petition for gating/greening must be supported by 80 percent of landowners.  Absentee landowners must be located to secure their approval. 

Once majority approval is received, residents must submit an application to the Department of Public Works that includes “green design” specifics; obtain approvals from police, fire, sanitation, and private utility companies; and provide stipulated public notifications of public hearings and alley closures.  Fund-raising to pay for gates, application fees, public notice in newspapers, locks and access methods for emergency personnel and utility companies, as well as planters, soil, and shrubs will be the responsibility of residents. The Alley Gating and Greening Toolkit was been developed by Community Greens to guide community leaders and interested residents through this process.

Researchers from the University of Maryland and William and Mary College will determine qualitative impacts of green spaces on residents and communities.  Quantitative measures will include crime statistics, calls to 311, housing values, and environmental impact measures.  Community Greens is working with residents of 60 blocks in neighborhoods across Baltimore City, particularly those transition, to assist residents as they navigate the bureaucracy to gain approvals for their projects.  They are training neighborhood leaders, staff of neighborhood associations, religious groups, CDCs and others, raising public awareness of alley greening and empowering residents to undertake these projects.  Community Greens is also making its presence known in Baltimore’s “green” community; in April 2008 the first Green Alley Tour was held as a part of Baltimore Green Week.