After years of passing laws against loitering, cities from New York to Atlanta to San Francisco are creating new mini-parks and plazas where passersby are encouraged to sit and stay awhile.

According to data from the New York nonprofit Transportation Alternatives, outdoor seating areas boost foot traffic by 20 percent, leading to 10 percent more retail sales. Local property values also increase by 7 percent.

In San Francisco, four new pedestrian plazas and five "parklets" - tiny parks made of two or three consecutive parking spaces - will be open this summer, with more to come. Neighborhood businesses and corporate donors are funding the projects; the city will pay for maintenance. The trend is spreading to smaller cities and towns, too. Morristown, New Jersey, is considering turning a parking lot behind a municipal building into a park, and Tigard, Oregon, is adding sidewalks with benches to downtown streets. Read the full article.

The workday at Mickens' Pickin's garden center starts early. Right around 8:30 a.m. students make their way to the greenhouse and pull on plastic gloves. There are tomatoes to check in the shade house. Then it's time to peek at the new hydroponic garden that's flush with arugula, cilantro, rosemary, peppers and crookneck squash.

It's busy work for exceptional education students at Moore-Mickens Education Center, which created the small garden business to teach practical and social skills to students with special needs. Read the full article.

 

This year's AIB Symposium & Awards will be in St. Louis, Missouri, September 30-October 2. Mark your calendars for this unique learning opportunity designed to educate, motivate, and inspire.

The symposium is open to everyone, not just for contest participants. If you are interested in beautifying and celebrating your community you should attend! For details on the educational sessions and tours visit the AIB web site, www.americainbloom.org.