About This Site

I have often wondered about how to organize & create a community garden: this electronic directory is the culmination of my research (that is, until gardening season next spring!). Urban gardens have a rich history all over the world, and I hope this site will help others interested in the movement. It was created for a library & information sciences course at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

I do not claim to present a comprehensive collection of every site about urban gardening. Instead, I have selectively chosen the best sites available. My criteria include a broad potential audience; current links & information; and useful resources. For example, I have not included individual garden pages which simply list a garden address. I have made a few exceptions, which are noted in the guide.

As I conducted my research, I discovered just how far-reaching the impact of a common garden can be. I had only considered my personal love of gardening and my desire to create a beautiful space with my neighbors. In fact, urban gardening can address social & economic issues such asself-esteem, crime, hunger and low-income.

Urban gardening is a world-wide movement, and there exist many web sources about the broader topic of urban sustainable agriculture. I feel that these sites are beyond the scope of this guide, as are the many sites about school gardens.

If you find that I've left out an important source, or a new one comes along, please email me so that I can add it to the site.

This site used to be located at the following address:
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~sewells/communitygardens.htm