In partnership with Bernalillo County and the International District Healthy Communities Coalition (IDHCC), Groundwork Studio developed a plan to create a sustainable framework for urban agriculture in Albuquerque’s most diverse urban neighborhood.Through comprehensive inventory and mapping of assets and partnerships, responsive community needs assessment and policy analysis, Bernalillo County and partners now have a clear roadmap for supporting a broad range of urban agriculture efforts.

Creative community engagement efforts included interactive brainstorming and mapping with the IDHCC (including a paper airplane activity), stakeholder walking tours and interviews and participation in community events such as Ciqlovia and Earth Day Celebrations.

The planning process identified nine priority prototype project sites, for which Groundwork Studio prepared partnership maps, conceptual designs and cost estimates. Landscape types included school and community gardens, alleyway improvements, open space/urban wildlife habitat, therapeutic/medicinal gardens and water harvesting demonstrations. Policy recommendations further identified how municipal and institutional support can help sustain community based urban agriculture efforts.