With a 21 percent jobless rate in Motown, many people have taken advantage of empty lots to build community gardens. This AP article reports that within the city of Detroit, hundreds of urban vegetable gardens have popped up on abandoned properties. This kind of land grab has become common in the city where a house was famously purchased for 1 dollar.

In Los Angeles, a much more contentious story played out in the ashes of the 1992 Riots. The Garden Movie documents the story of an urban farm in South Central and the fight to preserve it from development. Here is a preview:

During a recent road trip to Oregon, we spoke with Justin Overdevest of Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE). In partnership with Americorps, the University of Oregon, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Justin and various local groups are working to change the economic landscape of the Central Oregon Coast. Justin talks about the philosophy of the program and describes some of the projects in the works. They include everything from green initiatives, to food production, to arts and crafts. We meet Ryan Roberts, a young photographer who is involved with CORE. He shows us some of his photos that display the natural beauty of Oregon along with the economic reality of living on this rural coast.