As land values rise, more than 200 community gardens in Philadelphia could be lost to redevelopment.
"Land in [Philadelphia] has steadily become more valuable over the last decade and as more eager buyers seek out the city's abandoned and publicly owned lots, the gardeners who claimed them when no one wanted them have increasingly found themselves unable to compete," writes Catalina Jaramillo.
The Philadelphia Land Bank, created in 2013 to streamline the city's sale of vacant and tax-delinquent properties, had committed to selling vacant lands to community agriculture groups. But advocates say that hasn't happened, and meanwhile, existing community gardens continue to be sold off by city agencies.
Now, the city is launching an urban agriculture master plan through the Office of Sustainability’s Food Policy Advisory Council. The plan will "establish goals and metrics, formalize commitments to urban agriculture, engage in a land suitability analysis, develop funding strategies, and create roadmaps for interagency coordination and public-private partnerships," according to Sustainability Director Christine Knapp.
FULL STORY: City failing to deliver on community garden promises
Strategic Plan for Philadelphia Land Bank Gains Approval
By all accounts, the Philadelphia Land Bank has completed a high quality strategic plan to guide its actions over the coming years.
No Connection Between Gardens and Gentrification in Detroit, Study Says
Research from late 2021 documented the footprint of urban gardens in Detroit, finding evidence of inequities but not gentrification.
Community Opposition and a Rezoning Controversy in Philadelphia
The local councilmember is seeking a rezoning from commercial to residential in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, but local community members say the development will be priced out of their range.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association