OH/LEX: Revitalizing Vacant Land in Shrinking Cities in Ohio

IMPACT. 1: Develop partnerships between OSU Extension and City/County Land Banks to assess vacant and abandoned parcels and structures. -- 2. Activate outreach strategies to community partners in specific jurisdictions to generate interest in vacant land reuse. -- 3. Implement activation strategies on vacant and abandoned lots in communities in Ohio.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Knowlton School; City & Regional Planning; Landscape Architecture; College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; OSU Extension; Center for Urban and Regional AnalysisCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: City of Lima, OH; Allen CountyPRIMARY CONTACT: MJ van Maasakkers (vanmaasakkers.1@osu.edu)The goal of this project is to create productive partnerships between OSU Extension staff members and city/county land banks to implement the "OH/LEX" approach, or the Ohio Land EXchange, to revitalize vacant land. Based on a pilot-project in Lima, OH, a group of faculty members in Ohio State's Knowlton School has developed a suite of tools for small- and medium sized cities with persistently high levels of vacancy and abandonment. OH/LEX enables the user to assess vacant and abandoned properties, bring together community stakeholders to plan for the future of these parcels and implement practical reuse strategies on empty lots. Over the next year, the Knowlton School, OSU Extension and community partners will train staff members in the use of this suite of tools and gauge interest in communities throughout Ohio to implement them