The gentrification of Fort Greene has left longer-term residents with a problem: how to get hold of affordable and fresh food. A community gardening project is sowing the seeds of change

Community gardens are nothing new in the United States: there is a long tradition that began during the world wars and the Great Depression, when community gardening participation became almost universal. “Victory gardens” flourished during the second world war and provided a way for communities to produce food in times of crisis. As the United States recovered from war, community gardens diminished in number, but they made a comeback in the early 1970s when food prices increased and an environmental consciousness arose.

The Garden and Greening Programme was established by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) in 1963 to beautify residences, educate the population and support residents interested in gardening. At the beginning, the authority distributed flyers inviting tenants to garden and a contest was organised. The initiative was warmly welcomed and 105 gardens were planted in over 65 NYCHA developments.



Urban agriculture initiatives – in particular, community gardens – are strongly supported by the association to this day, despite its difficult economic situation. The benefits that gardening activities provide for these communities are seen to be worth the extra effort and resources required to implement them.



Many academics have focused on the motives that drive people to participate in a community garden. The most common are health benefits, access to food, neighbourhood beautification and social interactions. These are the main reasons behind the creation of NYCHA gardens – and they are the motivations that drive gardeners in the Garden of Eden.

Garden of Eden is a community garden on the grounds of one of NYCHA’s housing developments in Fort Greene, a neighbourhood in the northwestern part of Brooklyn. Today, Fort Greene is an effervescent neighbourhood that attracts artists inspired by the many cultural facilities the area offers. It has a rich and well-preserved history, and a large African-American community whose roots go back to the beginning of the 19th century.

At that time the Brooklyn Navy Yard, once the largest naval construction facility in the United States, opened its doors and provided opportunities for skilled workers. By the 1870s, more than half of the African-American population of Brooklyn lived in this neighbourhood, alongside Irish, German and English immigrants.

During the second world war, the Brooklyn Navy Yard increased its workforce, and in 1944 NYCHA built two public housing developments for the wartime workforce: the Raymond V Ingersoll houses and the Walt Whitman houses. These high-rise developments occupied 38 acres, 20% of the neighbourhood, and accommodated 14,000 people in 3,500 units. In 1966, however, the shutdown of the Navy Yard left many residents unemployed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The New York City Housing Authority owns the land where the Garden of Eden is based, giving the project security and continuity. Photograph: Peggy Truong

In 2004, the Fort Greene area was “re-zoned” to retain jobs that were at risk of leaving the city. Since then, it has been undergoing a quick transformation – including the development of new, luxury, highrise residential buildings. Another consequence of the re-zoning was the loss of local affordable commercial retail space, as local small business owners and low- and moderate-income consumers have been excluded while national chain retailers have been encouraged to move in.

In this context, the contribution of local non-profit organisations is very important to address local needs. The Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (Marp) is a non-profit established in 1999 that aims to restore the economic vitality of Myrtle Avenue, one of the main streets of Fort Greene. The Ingersoll and Walt Whitman houses stretch along Myrtle Avenue for nearly a kilometre, so Marp has offered a lot of support to these residents since its beginnings. In 2009, the lack of affordable and fresh food in the area arose as a crucial issue. The residents came up with the idea of gardening to tackle this shortage.

A group of six African-American women, supported by Meredith Phillips Almeida, deputy director at Marp, approached NYCHA with the idea of creating a community garden at the Ingersoll houses. The proposal for the Garden of Eden was approved, and NYCHA leases the space to the gardeners, who must renew the contract every year.

The garden has been very successful, expanding every year to satisfy the high demand for gardening space from the NYCHA residents. The gardeners grow both flowers and vegetables, beautifying their neighbourhood while also enjoying fresh produce. The garden started with eight planting boxes and now has 40, plus a long waiting list that continues to grow. This spring, NYCHA and the residents have started a new garden at the Ingersoll houses to satisfy demand.

According to Ferris, Norman and Sempik (2001), “What distinguishes a community garden from a private garden is the fact that it is in some sense a public garden in terms of ownership, access and degree of democratic control.” It involves the convergence of multiple individuals joining together in diverse settings to grow food, among other things.

Garden of Eden is a good example of how a community initiative can thrive on multiple partnerships. Besides NYCHA and Marp support, Garden of Eden has benefited from several grants provided by Citizens Committee for New York City (CCNYC), one of the oldest micro-funding organisations in New York City. CCNYC conducts workshops and awards micro-grants to resident-led groups to support their neighbourhood improvement initiatives. In 2012, Garden of Eden received a grant that helped with the expansion of the garden as well as the purchase of a compost barrel. In 2013, the gardeners applied again, helped by Marp, and with that grant installed an irrigation system.

To better understand the success of Garden of Eden in its first four years, social, economic and institutional indicators should all be taken into account. The social dimension plays a crucial role in the garden’s success: one of the indicators that measures this social aspect is diversity. The many stakeholders involved have strengthened the community garden by contributing to the decision-making process. The gardeners embody the diversity of the community, encompassing people of African American, Bangladeshi and Chinese descent and all different age groups. The rich variety of vegetable crops and flowers grown by the members reflects, in some cases, their cultural preferences.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Garden of Eden project, Brooklyn, New York

Another social indicator of its success is the active participation of the gardeners. Over the four years, trusting relationships have been developed, creating a strong network between the gardeners and the institutions involved. NYCHA’s close support of the gardeners has contributed to increase “social capital”, defined by trust, cooperation, reciprocity and networks. Many academics have analysed how community greening creates human, natural, physical and financial capital – which together lead to social capital.

The economic dimension is also crucial to the success and longevity of the initiative. Diversity is key here: the several sources of economic support greatly improve the chances that Garden of Eden will successfully continue in the future. Each of the institutions involved supports the initiative in different ways: while CCNYC provides the gardeners with grants, NYCHA and Marp contributions are focused mainly on providing services for the gardeners, such as an annual award or skill-building workshops.

Another important economic indicator is the security of land tenure, which is one of the biggest challenges that urban agriculture initiatives face. The fact that NYCHA owns the land gives sufficient stability to the garden and ensures its continuation and even its expansion, planned for next year.



Finally, the institutional dimension can be measured by looking at the capacity for self-organisation and leadership among the gardeners. Learning by themselves how to grow food, establish participatory rules, organise activities and advocate with city government – as well as having a clear leader – strengthens the community, and thus contributes to the resilience of the Garden of Eden.

This is an edited extract from CITIES Foundation's new book, We Own The City: Enabling Community Practice in Architecture and Urban Planning, published by Trancity/Valiz and launching from Amsterdam on 27 May. Read more of the book here