Urban Gardening
How Cities Can Support Urban Gardeners
Urban agriculture can provide green spaces, fresh food, and healthy activities, but urban gardeners and foragers face many obstacles.
A Microfarm Grows in an L.A. Front Yard
The founder of Asante Microfarm hopes his farm will serve as a model for bringing fresh produce to underserved communities.
Home Builders Sow Seeds for Urban Agriculture
In the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver, developer Forest City has recognized the growing interest in urban gardening by partnering with The Urban Farm Company to offer ready-made raised-bed gardens to homebuyers.
Urban Ag Evangelist Gives Guerrilla Gardening a Dose of Star Power
David Hochman profiles Ron Finley, an urban gardening activist from South Los Angeles whose breakout TED talk and volunteer work are attracting some high profile supporters.
Comprehensive Plan Needed for NYC's Urban Agriculture
With 700 urban farms and gardens in New York City, a new report calls for a comprehensive approach to managing the city's urban agriculture, and offers recommendations for maximizing coordination between city agencies and urban farmers.
Urban Gardening Under Threat in Africa
Urban gardening is sprouting to life across America, but urban locales in the developing world "have incorporated horticulture into their urban planning" for decades. In Africa, urbanization is threatening these essential parts of the food system.
Refugees Find Sanctuary in Urban Gardening
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.
Edible Bus Stops Sprout in London
I'm sure your mother had good reason to tell you not to eat on the run. But times have changed, and one group in London is utilizing the city's public transportation network to help popularize the benefits of healthy eating and urban greening.
Land Abundant Gives Rise to Gardens in Detroit
John Gallagher investigates a growing trend of unsanctioned urban agriculture in Detroit, where residents have had to take alternative land use into their own hands.
Community Involvement Influenced by Anarchy
This Big City team looks at "small places of anarchy" in Toyko that has taken root in DIY Gardening, Collaborative Mental Mapping and FIXing the Neighborhood.
Stamp of Approval for Green Roofs
The New York City Council voted last week to alter the city's code to encourage green roofs and urban gardening.
Chicago Opens Doors and Land to Urban Gardening
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed a change to local rules that would allow urban gardens to expand and sell produce within the city.
Are School Gardens a "Cruel Trick"?
Caitlin Flanagan, writing in The Atlantic magazine, believes that the "edible schoolyard" movement is a waste of time that would be better spent having kids learn from books.
An Antigravity Forest
The new facade of the Atheneum Hotel in London sports 12,000 hanging plants, creating a lush curtain of greenery. Wired Magazine has pictures of the facade and other similar sites.
A Cheapskate’s Guide To Urban (Rooftop/Balcony) Gardening
I can’t deny that one of my strongest personality traits is that of being a hard-core cheapskate. So much so, that I feel obliged to caveat this post by saying that my initial reasons for getting into rooftop gardening were more to save money on buying fresh vegetables and fruit from our rather pricey local markets than any particular affection for gardening. While it turns out that my wife and I probably do save money (surprisingly, I never ran the numbers), the joy of gardening, and the kick I get out of showing our rooftop garden off to friends, has far outweighed the economic benefits. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, urban gardening is much easier than you might imagine. The hardest part is overcoming the psychological hurdle of thinking that it is difficult, confusing, time-consuming, or takes up lots of space. In fact, it is none of these things; you don’t need expensive, special equipment, or any particular skill. You only need a window box, a fire escape, or a small patch of patio if that’s all you have. If this geeky transportation engineer can grow tomatoes, so can you!
Put up a Park in the Lot
Ruben Anderson suggests that if automobile parking could be kept to properties, that could free up the former on-street parking to become Garden Streets, so that cities could grow much more of their own produce.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
