We researched community gardens through two avenues: gardening outreach organizations and field research. The Philadelphia Greens, a branch of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, the Neighborhood Garden Association and Penn State's Cooperative Extension Urban Garden Program, provided technical information and locations of community gardens in west Philadelphia. We also interviewed 45 gardeners and documented the existence of many vacant lots as potential garden sites. Although gardening has several advantages to the community it is a dwinding tradition. The vast majority of the gardeners are retired older peole who had gardened before they moved to Philadelphia from the South; very few young people showed an interest in the potential of gardening.

Autumn Hanna: "The Philadelphia Project allowed me to live in a community and experience its sights, sounds and people forever changing my life, erasing the stereotypes and enlightening the struggle of inner city life in West Philadelphia."