METROMORPHOSIS: DOCUMENTING CHANGE

Abstract: This study examines a community development process for achieving revitalization in urban neighborhoods. It reports on a study conducted for a St. Louis-based intermediary organization that supports the creation and maintenance of community gardens. Community gardens purport to have a wide range of beneficial impacts on their surrounding neighborhoods. There has been scant empirical investigation of these claims, although there is a preponderance of anecdotal evidence in the popular press. The study focused on a series of variables that estimate the well-being of the neighborhoods in general and Garden Impact Areas in particular. The study applied GIS software to collect data from the 1990 and 2000 Census for 3-block radii around the study gardens. Using difference of differences to measure change, the findings record Garden Impact Areas improved in indicators of resident quality of life and neighborhood conditions.