Across the U.S., more than 10,000 closed landfills cover a combined area larger than Los Angeles. For decades, many of these sites have remained untouched, often relegated to the outskirts of growing cities and towns. But they’re no longer out of sight. Today, roughly 2 million people live within just one mile of a landfill. And as open land becomes increasingly scarce, communities are starting to ask: What if we could turn these forgotten places into something useful, even beautiful?
From coast to coast, former landfills are being re-imagined as gardens, parks, and cultural destinations—public spaces that educate, inspire, restore, and reconnect people with land once considered unusable.
Two transformative projects along the Ohio River—Waterfront Botanical Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky, and Origin Park in Clarksville, Indiana—are proof that even the most damaged land can heal.
Beginning in the 1940s, the site of Louisville’s Waterfront Botanical Gardens (WBG) was a dump used for residential and construction waste. For years, it sat unused, covered in turf and mowed just once a year. That changed in 2014 when Botanica, a local nonprofit focused on horticultural and environmental education, set out to transform the landfill into a public garden. With a vision of giving the land back to the community and creating a place for connection with nature, they rallied support to start the process of cleanup and regeneration.
Transforming the landfill into a botanical garden started with making it safe. Engineers stabilized the site with layers of clean soil and installed a warning barrier to separate the existing waste below. “When I first walked the site, it was an open space with pools of water and plants growing wild,” says Andrew Hagerty, director of horticulture at WBG. “We had to rebuild the land, literally and biologically. There were no worms, few pollinators. The soil was compacted and lifeless.”
To restore it, WBG and its landscape design team introduced resilient native and adaptive plants—prairie grasses, sedges, black-eyed Susans—chosen for their ability to survive in thin, nutrient-poor soil. Where contamination was higher, raised beds and soil corridors were built to isolate roots. “Over time, life started to return,” Hagerty says. “First the plants, then the worms, then the birds and other animals. It’s a reminder that nature is resilient, and if you give it the right conditions, it will thrive again.”
The first phase of the gardens is now complete. The site features an education center, edible landscaping, native and pollinator gardens, and spaces for gatherings, celebrations, learning, and quiet reflection. School groups tour the site year-round and seasonal planting days in late winter and early fall attract hundreds of volunteers.
The garden continues to grow with the addition of a bonsai display house and garden, which will showcase a collection of more than 150 bonsai trees, once completed. A new allée of 20 swamp white oaks will lead to an overlook with sweeping views of Beargrass Creek. Future plans also include a visitors’ center, children’s garden, and conservatory.
Welcoming more than 75,000 visitors annually, WBG has become an exemplar of safe, sustainable landfill reuse and a beloved civic space. “We reclaimed a place many had written off and made it into something people want to be part of,” says Phil Koester, president and CEO of WBG.
Just across the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana, another landfill transformation is underway: a park that invites adventure, education, and connection. Origin Park’s master plan covers more than 430 acres of floodplain—land scarred by post-industrial use, carved by the river’s rise and fall, and home to two closed landfills.
The park blends urban ecological design with public amenities and immersive experiences. An event center for weddings, conferences, and community gatherings anchors the vision, which also includes a network of accessible trails winding through Buttonbush Woods. While plans for elevated boardwalks are in development, the park currently features rough-cut trails that guide visitors through ponds, wetlands, and sedge meadows teeming with wildlife. “Origin Park is designed to be experienced even when flooded,” says Dennis Schnurbusch, CEO of Origin Park. “It’s designed to flood and recover—that’s what makes it resilient.”
The land has a layered history. Bison once crossed the Ohio River here. The world’s second-largest exposed Devonian fossil bed is within view. It’s also a known site on the Underground Railroad and the place where Lewis and Clark began their westward expedition. “Almost every acre here has historical meaning,” Schnurbusch says. “This park protects that story while creating new ones for future generations.”
Another key feature is the Wildwater Adventure Center—a family destination with a soon-to-be-built whitewater course and adventure hub offering river sports, hiking, zip-lining, climbing, retail, and dining. Built atop two landfills that will undergo heavy grading and remediation, the course is designed to follow the land’s natural contours and is poised to become a major recreational draw. Once complete, the entire park is projected to generate over $367.8 million in regional economic impact, create more than 3,000 construction jobs, and support hundreds of full-time positions in tourism, education, and recreation. “We don’t see this as a one-off,” Schnurbusch adds. “It’s a model other cities can follow—reclaiming forgotten land, honoring its history, and creating real, lasting value for the community.”
