The Sustainable Land Lab is a living laboratory of strategies for creatively reusing vacant land. The goal is to draw on the creativity of thinkers and doers in the St. Louis region to propose and then test innovative ideas for the use of vacant land. What we learn through the implementation of these proposals will be used to inform the policies and practices that shape vacant land management citywide.

Currently, six two-year demonstration projects are testing innovative ideas and integrated strategies for vacant land into assets that advance sustainability. The six projects in this first phase of the Sustainable Land Lab are located in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood just north of Downtown St. Louis.

The Sustainable Land Lab was initiated through a public competition launched in November 2012, as part of the Sustainable Cities Conference, hosted by Washington University in partnership with the City of St. Louis.