Chicago non-profit transforming vacant land stripped by redlining, other discriminatory practices.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- For years, vast stretches of vacant lots have scarred Chicago's landscape - visible reminders of decades of disinvestment.

"For generations, if the only thing you've ever seen is a vacant lot, sometimes it's difficult to imagine what else could be here," said Ghian Foreman.

Foreman leads the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative. It's a nonprofit working to transform 205 acres of vacant land through its Terra Firma initiative. The project focuses on revitalizing neighborhoods across what the organization calls the Mid South Side.

"We're focusing really on the communities from Bronzeville to the north, down to South Chicago, to the south," said Foreman.

According to housing policy experts, many of these areas were shaped by discriminatory housing practices.

"There were policies that were put in place - redlining, restrictive covenants, urban renewal - where a lot of these buildings that sat here were actually torn down."

During the Great Migration, redlining was widespread. It was practice where banks and lenders systematically denied loans and insurance to Black communities.

"It was a way to remove blight and supposedly improve neighborhoods, but it really devastated Black communities," said Foreman.

That legacy is still visible today. According to the Cook County Assessor, there are more than 30,000 vacant lots in Cook County, both city- and privately-owned. The vast majority, 93%, are in communities of color, while only 7% are in majority-white neighborhoods. On Chicago's South Side, vacant lots account for 67% of the total, compared to just 4% on the North Side.

Emerald South is still in phase one of its ambitious plan. So far, the organization has cleaned and beautified more than 100 acres. That land is marked by its signature split-rail fencing, a symbol of what's to come.

"First, it's just clean and green, no trash, a fence, a sign that this land is cared for," explained Foreman. "Then, we activate spaces with murals and community art. And after that, we start imagining- What if we owned the land? What if we built on it?"

For Foreman, it's not just about land, it's about legacy.

"We're thinking about it the same way our grandmothers or great-grandmothers did when they came from the South, looking for better opportunities," said Foreman. "These were buildings where they lived. We're hoping to be part of the story that brings these communities back."