Welcome to the Digital Garden

New York City is often known as a “concrete jungle.” While we envision a gray and black landscape, not many pay attention to the actual green foliage that quietly engulfs the city. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the interest in green spaces heightened and highlighted the necessity of green areas for people living in New York in order to ensure their well being. One way to encounter and interact with green spaces are the many different community gardens spread all over NYC, which have a long history dating back to the 1970s.

But what is a community garden? Our project uses methods of data visualization and ethnographic interviews to explore who, how and what is accessible within these green spaces and what the effects of these gardens mean for the community that surrounds them. Our audience centers mainly around those already involved, as we are approaching what they are familiar with  from a research perspective. By bringing awareness to the effects of these gardens, we hope to improve the current standing of them on both a local and state level.