What are the social and physical characteristics of community gardens in the Capital District? How does location (urban, suburban, rural?) influence the functionality of gardens? Using a survey, we examined gardener perceptions of and contributions to community, both inside and outside garden walls. We analyzed soil type and impervious surface cover data as well. We created a ranking system to determine those gardens that exhibit the “best” and “worst” characteristics. These results were mapped using GIS which allowed us to find correlations between location and garden success. We found that location has the most impact on impervious surface and community within the garden whereas soil type and engagement with the surrounding community are more variable and depend on other factors besides location.
