In a bustling city, a community garden gives residents a sustainable place to commune with nature

Gil Hodges Community Garden

How can a neighborhood park reduce pollution, increase biodiversity, and protect water quality? With sustainable design.

The Gil Hodges Community Garden is an intriguing neighborhood amenity—and an environmental showpiece. As part of the park’s extreme makeover, our designers created a unique water retention system for this community space in New York City.

Leveraging a municipal green infrastructure grant, we worked with New York Restoration Project to design a system of bioswales and rain gardens within the park. The new design diverts runoff from the public right-of-way into the garden space and, subsequently, to a number of functional and aesthetic landscape features. The work plan involved an intense four-month design and review process with extensive community involvement. This process was followed by an accelerated implementation phase.

Today, the garden is used by a wide variety of community groups and residents, including nearby elementary and high school students who grow vegetables and herbs through after-school programs.