Back Yard Front Oakland, CA Ongoing
Back Yard Front is an ongoing exploration of the role of sustenance gardening in an urban context. By planting vegetables in the front yard, an area often relegated to decorative landscaping, this project subverts traditional private/public boundaries as well as traditional conceptions of beauty versus utility.

Daily watering and weeding become an invitation for neighbors and strangers to stop and talk or ask questions. Historically, this urban community featured many vegetable gardens tended by Italians, Japanese, African Americans and others; "Back Yard Front" seeks to revitalize these traditions.

The project is also an exercise in trust; no fence separates the garden from the street, yet thus far we've experienced no vandalism. Although this organic garden is only 10' x 16', it has already impacted the ecosystem of the area, drawing butterflies, birds, and insects; the garden also supplies a large proportion of our produce.