Sarah Laskow notes the latest battlefronts in the growing 'war on gardens' being perpetrated by cities across North America.
Following on the recent demolition of a Tulsa resident's edible garden, and similar episodes in Georgia, Michigan, and New Jersey, a recent battle in Quebec has Laskow seeing an all out assault on our right to bear veggies.
"Across the country and even in Canada, cities' thinking about front
lawns is more than a little bit antiquated," writes Laskow. "It comes down to this simple
formulation: Grass good! Vegetables bad...If
building a few bike lanes counts as a war on cars, this is definitely a war on gardens."
And Laskow is out to the marshal the troops: "It's not the 1950s anymore: Not everyone needs to grow a perfectly
manicured lawn, especially when vegetable gardens can look just as
attractive, improve the soil (instead of requiring tons of pesticides),
and provide fresh food. If the problem is that these types of front
yards are illegal in current city codes, then the codes need to change,
along with people's assumptions that a burnt-out, water-sucking lawn is
better than a few patches of thriving tomato plants and string bean
vines."
FULL STORY: City officials are waging a war on gardens

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont