Last week, I featured a great project by the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), the Sacramento Railyard renovation and revitalization project. CCLR is focused on reusing or recycling brownfields, lands dirtied with industrial contamination that just need a bit of effort to get in use again. This is popular, exciting work amongst city planners — it’s like turning an old, beat-up car into a beauty again.
The Sacramento Railyard project is a great example of how such projects can stimulate a ton of economic growth and revitalize a city. Another great project CCLR is involved in that achieves other completely different but important goals is a project it’s worked on with Habitat for Humanity in East Oakland’s Sobrante Park Neighborhood.
An Edes Avenue Habitat for Humanity project in East Oakland recycled a former auto junkyard (that also used to be a greenhouse site) into a residential development of 54 affordable homes. This is the largest brownfield Habitat for Humanity ever and the 2nd-largest Habitat for Humanity development in California.
The homes are not only affordable, but also environmentally friendly and in a good location, now that it has been cleaned up a little bit. Yes, this is one of those true feelgood stories.
Just like with the good we use every day, we really need to be “recycling” the land we’ve already developed (and polluted). It’s great to see organizations like CCLR and Habitat for Humanity tackling that and developing such green, socially beneficial projects.
Know of any more brownfield redevelopment or land recycling projects worth highlighting? Drop a link below.