Transforms the basement area of a recently-demolished house into a series of stepped raingarden tiers.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Frank Mayfield
$5,500+
Volunteer + Professional
High
Advanced
Best
Sun, Part Shade
A people-friendly green infrastructure solution that creates flexible spaces for neighborhood gatherings and manages stormwater on site.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Vmenkov
A new, neighborhood-scaled infrastructure designed to better manage snow as it accumulates.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Hormiguita Viajera mir.
Professional
N/A
A graceful double-lot solution for ongoing stormwater education and social events.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Sosanna.
This underground water storage tank is a long-term solution to save money and water, reduce risk of basement flooding, and contribute to the health of our Great Lakes waterways.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Adrian Benko
Medium
Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Off-street parking option for those with alley access.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 Jean-Pol Grandmont
$2,500 to $5,500
Better
This off-street parking design holds two vehicles with extra room for a lawn—great for sharing with a neighbor who also needs parking.
Photo Public Domain Immanuel Giel
Create habitat and improve biodiversity with this set of guiding principles for managing an existing forest patch or emergent stand of trees.
Photo © Erin Kelly, Lambert, Rotherstien & Associates.
$50 to $1,000
Intermediate
Embrace the poor quality rocky soils of commercial lots in Detroit with this mix of succulents in a range of painterly colors and textures.
Photo Public Domain, Leonard G.
Volunteer
Low
Reduce drainage fees, manage dust, and enhance the identity of your commercial corridor with this colorful and fragrant edge-maker.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 ForestWander
$1,000 to $2,500
Beginner
Good
The clean, hardy, and colorful living perimeter of this lot design is easy to build and works well on multiple lots.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Manuel
Make money with trees over time with this hedge-organized space for growing and selling trees within neighborhoods.
Photo © Erin Kelly, Lambert, Rotherstien & Associates
Neighborhood-friendly tapestry of small and large trees reduces mowing maintenance and creates energy savings.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Tjukka2
Part Shade, Shade
Save water and money with this sidelot greywater harvesting system.
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 maggie_and_her_camera
Luscious rain garden for lots with crushed-in-place basements.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Dmitry Marochko
This theatre of seasonal design features four ornamental trees, each crowned by a seasonal rain garden.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Sandstein
Colorful, hardy plants form a clean and urban edge while creating a barrier to limit lot access.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Framboise
This maple tree mix creates beautiful shade, fall color, and offers routes to wealth creation over time.
Photo CC BY CAFNR
A low-maintenance lawn custom tailored for Detroit.
Photo © Ernst Conservation Seeds
Rain garden and living fence provide a soft way to split a lot between neighbors while managing roof runoff.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Raul654
Easy-to-build side lot rain garden designed with plants commonly available at local shops and national chains.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Pat Dumas
A playful adaptation of the tulip fields found in the Netherlands.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Illia Frenkel
