To preserve the spread of urban gardening, activists are beginning to map and document the many haphazard community gardens to gain recognition from landlords and city officials in hopes of warding off bulldozers.
Sep 3, 2012 Grist
Vacant lots in American cities consume vast amounts of land, which many are now recognizing as places of opportunity. Some cities and citizens are transforming once empty urban spaces into vibrant community-fostering places.
Aug 23, 2012 The Nature of Cities
Planted to solve a perceived food desert problem, urban gardens are harvesting more than just fresh, nutritious food. Neighborhoods surrounding gardens are seeing surprising declines in violent crime.
Aug 3, 2012 Mother Jones
Sarah Goodyear discovers a project to help Brooklynites reclaim land owned by the city, but long since abandoned, and building neighborhood bonds in the process.
Mar 30, 2012 Grist
The 100 largest U.S. cities added 120 new parks last year, but overall spending remained largely flat. Approximately half the cities experienced cuts in their parks budgets, forcing departments to defer maintenance costs even as usership grows.
Dec 8, 2011 City Parks Blog
Community gardens are popping up all over Detroit. This post from <em>Model D</em> takes a tour through three of them, and explores how they balance art and nature.
Aug 11, 2011 Model D
"Vacancy begets vacancy." With more than 1,000 vacant lots adding to the city's running total of 20,000 each year, Cleveland is on an Ultra-Ex mission to prepare these sites for tomorrow's housing renaissance.
Aug 5, 2011 The New York Times
It's common for community gardens today to be so popular there is a waiting list to get in, and the system favors those new to the neighborhood. A pair of farmers has set out to change all that.
Jun 27, 2011 The Christian Science Monitor
As the city of Detroit struggles with population loss and dwindling industrial jobs, farms and community gardens offer the city a positive nudge.
May 20, 2011 The New York Times
The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust's mission is to bring parks and gardens to underserved communities in Los Angeles, where problems of obesity are bad enough that the city recently banned new fast food operations.
Feb 12, 2011 The Planning Report
