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Could there be a growing space near you?
Could there be a growing space near you?
Each orange pin represents a publicly owned parcel of land that has been identified as having potential to become a growing space.
Finding Potential Growing Spaces
Essex County Greenbelt Association (Greenbelt), with input from Coalition members and in collaboration with teams from Tufts University and Salem State University, conducted GIS analysis to locate potentially suitable publicly-owned parcels.
Suitability was based on agreed criteria, omitting parcels with a high percentage of forested or sloped areas and wetlands. Lidar data was utilized to show which parcels receive 8 hours of sun per day during the middle of July.
Building a Data Viewer
Putting it all together, Greenbelt created a browser-based data viewer to explore these parcels, which also includes layers flagging areas with potential contamination (EPA Brownfields/Mass DEP Chapter 21E Sites), as well as location data for proximity to environmental justice populations for food access considerations.
A Starting Point
It’s important to note this data is intended to be used as a starting point for examining a parcel’s potential. Identified sites have not yet been assessed in-person to confirm the data-generated attributes. Furthermore, the use of a given parcel is best decided by each community and its affiliated stakeholders.
At this time, access to the data viewer is only available for Coalition members as these conversations get started.
Potential Growing Space data was created by Essex County Greenbelt Association. Other data was obtained from the Office of Geographic Information Systems (MassGIS), survey plans, global positioning systems (GPS), and Esri. Boundaries are approximate. Maps created by Essex County Greenbelt Association, 2025.
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