Podcast Summary: All Of It – "The History of Urban Gardening"

Host: David Fuerst (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Kate Brown, Author of To Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present and Future of the Self Provisioning City
Date: February 18, 2026
Podcast: ALL OF IT, WNYC

Episode Overview

This episode explores the vibrant, often overlooked history and contemporary practice of urban gardening. Drawing from her new book, historian Kate Brown reveals how urban gardens have historically shaped cities, built resilient communities, and served as engines for social support, sustainability, and biodiversity. The conversation weaves together urban history, personal stories, and practical advice, highlighting the profound social and ecological impacts of city gardening.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Roots and Evolution of Urban Gardening

• Origins Linked to Enclosure and Industrialization
  • Kate Brown traces urban gardening back to 19th-century England’s enclosure movement, which forced rural communities into cities. These displaced populations brought with them values of shared land and commons-based living.
  • "What I found was pretty amazing... Once you start looking, you find these tiny gardens almost everywhere." (Kate Brown, 03:53)
• Global Historical Examples
  • The discussion spans Berlin’s industrial boom, Washington D.C.’s Black communities, Soviet cities, contemporary Amsterdam, and post-industrial Mansfield, Ohio.
  • These gardens emerge wherever communities reclaim unused land, reflecting a universal tendency toward self-provisioning and community resilience.

The Form and Function of Tiny Gardens

• Definition and Scale
  • Urban gardens can be as small as a few dining tables or as large as city block allotments. Their structure depends on local context and the needs of the community.
  • Often, these gardens are community ventures, not solitary pursuits. They foster collective solutions—digging wells, forming summer camps, providing social security informally (06:09–08:07).
• The Urban Commons and Social Support
  • Early urban gardens acted as safety nets, birthing mutual aid societies and informal social security systems among marginalized groups.
  • "These working class gardeners solved a lot of their problems and created what we would today recognize as the first sinews of the Social Security state...spontaneously, in these tiny communities." (Kate Brown, 08:02)

Ecological and Community Benefits

• Biodiversity Hotspots
  • Due to industrial monoculture in rural areas, cities, surprisingly, have become biodiversity havens, offering safe habitats even for wildlife such as coyotes and birds.
  • Urban soil—teeming with microbes and other life—helps mitigate heat islands, prevent floods, and improve air quality (08:22–10:02).
• Nutritional and Economic Security
  • Urban gardens provide fresh produce, often covering much of a family’s vegetable needs, and serve as buffers during economic hardship or strikes (15:02–16:53).
  • "We pretty much eat our vegetables out of there nine months out of the year... It's incredible how productive..." (Kate Brown, 15:31)

Urban Gardening as Mutual Aid & Cultural Preservation

• Intergenerational Wealth & Cultural Practices
  • Black communities in Washington, D.C., created thriving garden-based economies and high homeownership rates during segregation and the Depression by relying on self-sustenance (12:04–14:54).
  • Immigrants brought seeds and farming practices from their homelands—Italians growing garlic and strawberries, Mexicans their peppers, and so on—preserving and adapting their foodways in American cities (19:05–21:47).

Community Connections and Mental Health

• Gardening Fosters Social Ties
  • Listeners called in to share stories of community gardens as social hubs—"three generations of gardeners and community come through that garden." (John, 6th Street Community Garden, 11:52)
  • Even small street-side plots break urban alienation, spark conversation, and support neighborhood networks (22:18–23:47).

Reimagining Urban Space

• Advocacy for ‘Edible Boulevards’
  • Brown envisions converting parking spaces and urban roadways into garden allotments, arguing for the repurposing of public space toward communal food production, biodiversity, and neighborly interaction.
  • "What if we asked our city leaders...if we could have that public land in the form of green space? So instead of curbside parking, we had curbside allotments...edible boulevards." (Kate Brown, 23:58–25:22)
• Microbial Connections Build Community
  • Remarkably, sharing gardens (and food) leads to the sharing of beneficial microbes, which studies suggest may enhance social bonding and cooperation (25:22–26:38).

Listener Stories and Memorable Quotes

• "I've watched three generations of gardeners and community come through that garden."
  – John, 6th St. and Avenue B Community Garden, (11:52)

• On intergenerational economic stability through gardening:
  "These poor black neighborhoods east of the river had the highest rates of homeowner occupancy in the city, matching those where the fancy diplomats lived...with what I would call a vegetable powered wealth."
  – Kate Brown, (14:18)

• "The green of my thumb is from the money I spend to replace the plant that died...that was his way of saying, go ahead, do it."
  – Will, speaking about his late partner's encouragement for new gardeners, (23:14–23:47)

• On sharing abundance:
  "Please take my kale, please take my zucchini... It's easy to be a neighbor when you have this... you have so much food, it's fun to give it away."
  – Kate Brown, (19:05)

• "The best part was the connections it fostered with neighbors and passersby."
  – Listener text from the Upper West Side (26:38)

Important Timestamps

• 02:42 – Kate Brown on what sparked her interest in urban gardening’s global history.
• 06:09–08:07 – How urban gardens became mutual aid societies and precursors to the social safety net.
• 08:22–10:02 – Biodiversity and ecological benefits of urban gardens.
• 12:04–14:54 – Black self-sufficiency and ‘vegetable-powered wealth’ in Washington, D.C.
• 15:02–16:53 – Surprising productivity of small-scale urban gardening.
• 19:05–21:47 – Food sharing, immigrant gardening traditions, and emulating botanical generosity.
• 23:14–23:47 – Listeners on social connections and overcoming gardening fears through community support.
• 23:58–25:22 – Vision for 'edible boulevards' and transforming urban infrastructure.
• 25:22–26:38 – Microbial exchange as a metaphor for—and mechanism of—community cohesion.
• 28:43–29:15 – Practical advice for beginners: start small, find a gardening friend.

How to Get Started with Urban Gardening

• Find a friend: Starting with someone else gives courage and makes it enjoyable.
• Claim a spot: It doesn’t need to be your own; public land, neglected edges, or even containers on a fire escape can work.
• "Just need the space of a size of a dining room table...once you get going, it's very addictive because it feels so good." (Kate Brown, 28:43)

Tone and Atmosphere

The episode blends historical insight, community storytelling, and practical enthusiasm. Host and guest alike foster a spirit of encouragement and accessibility. The atmosphere is warm, welcoming, and deeply rooted in the voices and experiences of diverse New Yorkers.