Soil, Seeds & Public Space: A Hundred Years of New York City's Community Gardens

This project investigates the history and tensions of New York City’s community gardens, considering how the conceptualization of public space has shifted over the past 100 years. This digital exhibit seeks to illuminate public space as an ongoing relationship between private and community interests, exploring this relationship historically, legally, and socially, as well as through acts of activism and philanthropy.

The goal of the project is to historically consider claims of right to public space within New York City’s community gardens. With renewed interest in sustainable education and urban gardening, the archive explores over 100 years of community gardens, starting with the Progressive Era’s School Garden Movement, World War II era Victory Gardens, community garden activism in the 1970s, and community gardens under Giuliani/Bloomberg mayorships, helping frame contemporary issues and initiatives.

Click through the exhibition on the right for an in-depth history and analysis of each time period. For an interactive timeline of the past 100 years in community garden development, click here!