Driving Transformative Redevelopment
Started in 2023 as a nonprofit public charity, Vineyard Lands for our Community is dedicated to the people and lands of Martha’s Vineyard. Our mission is to address those dynamic, and many-times conflicting, human, natural and economic issues common in island towns—storm damage and flooding, traffic circulation and parking, public access to the waterfront and beaches, connected pathways and bikeways, preservation of natural beauty and open spaces, repurposing deteriorating properties—with the overarching purpose to connect people to place and each other. We are about sharing and educating, about creating and imagining, about preserving our rich maritime and diverse cultural heritage, about uplifting craftsmanship, creative arts, and storytelling. Together we will preserve, create, reimagine, and sustain these places we call home. We reimagine land for people.
As Islanders, we know that one of the most challenging Places That Matter is Five Corners. No other single location anywhere on the Island faces all the challenges of flooding, traffic, ferry entry, and the lifeline for our economy. It is The Island Challenge we must address. For decades, we have complained yet accomplished nothing. This is not only a Tisbury issue; it is an all-Island, indeed a state issue. VLC’s project HarborWorks is in the vanguard of addressing these issues. As goes HarborWorks, so goes Beach Road and Five Corners. We are compelled to face these issues now, and as a community, with everyone. As our Island population increases, visitors arrive, and the sea rises, we must now focus our energy and resources on the flooding, traffic, and primary port of entry for our entire Island.
Vineyard Lands for our Community is a local organization: our founders and board members are Island residents, as is every member of the design and development team. We believe that our projects should be created and driven by those who understand our Island community’s needs.
Advance Our Critical Mission
The world is drawn to Martha’s Vineyard because of the sheer beauty and diversity of its natural landscapes and the places and spaces that enable us to engage and thrive together as a community. Vineyard Lands for our Community envisions an environmentally, economically, and socially resilient Martha’s Vineyard—where life is cherished and sustained and the quality and character of place matters. Help us accomplish our mission to champion community-driven projects that meet unmet Island needs and create vibrant and resilient Island places and spaces to live, learn, work, and play. Vineyard Lands for our Community guiding principles:
COMMUNITY
We serve the interests of the Island to strengthen the foundation upon which our community grows.
PLACEMAKING
We create places and spaces to improve Island vitality and promote health, happiness, and well-being.
RESILIENCE
We respond and adapt to changing conditions so that our community’s quality of life may adjust, transform, and thrive.
COLLABORATION
We seek partners and solutions to achieve a collective vision that meets today’s changing Island needs.
EDUCATION
We support experiential learning to promote exploration of Island life, culture, arts, storytelling, maritime crafts, aquaculture, and environment.