From Empty Homes to Green Space & Flood Prevention in Detroit

By Shanna Edberg
July 6, 2016

In Detroit, abandoned homes are being turned into “bioretention” rain gardens. These gardens soak up storm runoff, which reduces the flow of sewage into nearby rivers and lowers the risk of street flooding during storms. Each garden will reduce stormwater runoff by 300,000 gallons every year. The gardens also sequester carbon emissions, improve water quality, beautify neighborhoods, and will be used as teaching tools for local children. Residents also reported that replacing vacant homes with gardens helped them feel safer and could improve property values.

Climate Protection: Absorbs carbon emissions Resilience: Reduces flooding Food & Water: Improves water quality Jobs & Assets: Increases property values Health, Well-Being, & Safety: Cleans the air and soil; reduces stress Connection: Provides space for children to learn about the local environment

This post is part of a series on examples of multisolving, or climate-smart policies that simultaneously work to mitigate climate change while providing co-benefits such as the ones described above. The multiple benefits analysis was done using the FLOWER framework.