Urban Gardens

Researchers are starting to understand how urban bee populations can support healthy green spaces and reduce the urban heat island effect.

October 11, 2022 - Wired

Research from late 2021 documented the footprint of urban gardens in Detroit, finding evidence of inequities but not gentrification.

June 3, 2022 - WDET

The founder of Asante Microfarm hopes his farm will serve as a model for bringing fresh produce to underserved communities.

May 20, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Many gardeners in Florida celebrated this week, as Senate Bill 82 went into effect, by planting fruits and vegetables in their yards, legally, whether their city liked it or not.

July 4, 2019 - NPR

A California policy lets cities offer tax incentives to landowners who put vacant lots to use as urban farms or gardens. Long Beach is the latest comer, but the uptake has been sluggish elsewhere.

December 16, 2017 - Next City

Gainesville turns contaminated land into a contemporary public greenspace to serve as the city's “Central Park."

January 17, 2017 - Modern Cities

The 13th aldermanic district, located on the southeast side of Milwaukee, is working hard to back up its claim as the city's "Garden District."

June 23, 2015 - Urban Milwaukee

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering adopting an "Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone" policy to incentivize the development of urban gardens on empty lots (which actually do exist in San Francisco).

July 24, 2014 - KPIX

Melanie Eversley writes on the healing power of urban gardens and farms for refugees new to the U.S. who are looking for a taste of home.

August 28, 2012 - USA Today

Rebecca Solnit poses that yes, inserting food gardens into the urban landscape results in more local fruits and vegetables, but the more important crops are things like hope, justice, and community.

July 8, 2012 - Orion Magazine

The demolition of a Tulsa resident's edible garden, deemed "too tall" by city inspectors, has sparked a civil rights lawsuit, and is generating national attention.

June 21, 2012 - Grist

Stephanie M. Lee reports on the complicated nature of creating an urban garden in San Francisco, and how the area's Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) hopes to streamline the process.

May 3, 2012 - SF Gate

With new fast food restaurants temporarily banned in South L.A. and few new sources of food coming into the area, one local architecture professor set his students loose to work on ideas for a small urban farm.

November 24, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

Cleveland, Ohio has pursued an aggressive policy of greening it vacant and underused land. A program called Garden Boyz employs local youth to tend the gardens, keeping the landscape vital and keeping the kids out of gangs.

July 2, 2010 - Next American City

Hipsters and yuppies are the only people doing urban gardening, right? Grist says no, and gives examples of diversity in Denver throughout the community gardens there.

June 8, 2010 - Grist

The second edition list of the best urban planning costume ideas.

October 26, 2009 - Nate Berg

East Fourth St. is a popular spot in downtown Cleveland, an alley lined with tables from onlooking restaurants. A recent renovation has resulted in an explosion of flowers.

August 3, 2008 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Thanks to industrialized agriculture, there’s a wide gulf between those who produce food and those who consume it. Too many city-dwellers lack access to nutritious, non-processed foods. Dave Steel thinks that urban agriculture is the key.

June 11, 2008 - The Next American City