Residential land owner type mediates the connections among vacancy, overgrown vegetation, and equity

Attributes of property parcel owners are hypothesized to impact land management outcomes, because different types of owners are likely to have different capacities and motivations for land stewardship. We used emerging data resources to examine how owner type relates to the prevalence of overgrown vegetation in Toledo, Ohio, and Trenton, New Jersey, USA. Overgrown vegetation was characterized at the property parcel scale using data from comprehensive parcel surveys in each city, and owner attributes were categorized using local property tax databases. We categorized owners into types (e.g., individuals, investors, nonprofits), classified owners as local or non-local, and determined whether or not parcels were owner-occupied. Then we tested for differences in rates of overgrown vegetation across owner types using inferential statistics including chi-squared tests and autologistic regression. Individual owners had lower rates of overgrown vegetation than other owner types. Neighborhood context was also important, as overgrown lawns were more prevalent in high-vacancy areas. Among parcels owned by individuals, overgrown vegetation was less prevalent when the owner resided locally, and when the property was owner-occupied. This study advances our understanding of social-ecological outcomes in US shrinking cities by exploring how land ownership is related to vegetation management in ways that can dictate whether vegetation is serving as an amenity to the community. These findings may help promote desirable social-ecological outcomes and lead to more equitable futures in high-vacancy neighborhoods. Specifically, our results point to more equitable vegetation outcomes when parcels are owned by individuals, and particularly owners who reside on-site or locally. •Residential land owner type helps understand urban vegetation outcomes.•A new approach for categorizing property owner attributes was implemented.•Overgrown vegetation was less common when individuals owned property parcels.•Local owners and owner-occupants had lower rates of overgrown vegetation.•Promoting local and individual ownership could improve social-ecological outcomes.