1945–1985 · United States
リズ・クリスティ / Liz Christy
Founder of the Green Guerillas; mother of the community-garden movement
She began a movement to reclaim derelict lots as gardens, by citizens' own hands.
1970s New York was in fiscal crisis, its streets full of abandoned lots and rubble. The artist Liz Christy and friends formed the 'Green Guerillas,' carrying out guerrilla greening — including lobbing 'seed bombs' onto wasteland.
In 1973 they leased a neglected lot at the corner of Bowery and Houston from the city for a dollar a month, and over 1974 transformed it into a community garden with some 60 vegetable beds. It was New York's first community garden, and its success spread.
She died young in 1985, but the garden survives as the 'Liz Christy Community Garden.' Her movement led to public programs such as GreenThumb and helped launch a global current of citizens reclaiming urban land.
Key contributions
- Founded New York's first community garden (1973–74)
- Organised the Green Guerillas and spread guerrilla gardening
- Established a model of citizen-led reclamation of urban land