Vertical gardens are growing in urban areas

With the appeal of dense urban living growing in popularity around the world, the desire to green these spaces is also growing. This often means sacrificing space for convenience and for those without front or back yards, think of these urban gardens as “vertical lawns”. An added benefit is that they can be used as actual gardens to grow food in addition to provided a green oasis in the concrete jungle.

Via Herald Sun

Image courtesy of John Grainger

San Francisco turns parking spaces into relaxed spaces

These “parklets” offer a little oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. One can argue they take away what’s already scarce parking real-estate in crowded urban areas but they also prove that it doesn’t take a lot of money or planning to come up with ingenious solutions to improve our cities. In addition to San Francisco, they’ve also sprout up in Vancouver, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Image courtesy of Liz Hafalia/ SF Chronicle