About The Neighborhood House Garden Project

The Neighborhood House Garden Project began as a way to revitalize a vacant plot of land on Neighborhood House property, an effort complementing the Salt Lake City nonprofitÕs mission to build stronger and healthier connections within our community. It has evolved into a project dedicated to community building and connections. Imagine the cascading benefits that could be sown through the transformation of a weed-filled lot into a lively, welcoming and therapeutic spaceÉ

For over 100 years, Neighborhood House has sought to provide essential, quality support services to low-income children and adults, providing a rich history of innovative projects in response to the ever-changing needs of its clients. This Salt Lake City based nonprofit was established as the Free Kindergarten Association in 1894. The tremendous success of this program inspired expansion into other areas of need, and by 1912 it offered a Day Nursery, Library, MotherÕs Club, BoysÕ Club, and GirlsÕ Club, as well as sewing classes, neighborhood gatherings, lectures, musicals, and literary entertainment for both children and adults. In a further expansion during the 1970Õs, the need for a stimulating social environment for older or disabled adults was realized, and the Adult Day Services program was created.

It is in this spirit of creative change that a partnership was formed between Neighborhood House and the University of Utah Department of City & Metropolitan Planning Westside Studio Class to address the unused space to the west of the facility. The Westside Studio in the College of Architecture & Planning at the University of Utah conducts research focused on ethnically and culturally rich neighborhoods west of State Street in Salt Lake City. These projects are meant to be mutually-beneficial for both west side residents and graduate students in the City & Metropolitan Planning program. Each year the Studio selects projects with themes such as community development, urban design, economic development, and public involvement. An emphasis is placed on involving a wide range of stakeholders from governmental agencies to individual neighborhood residents.

The goal of this garden project is to create connections: with the Neighborhood House and the community, with children and fresh produce, with AlzheimerÕs patients and memories of their past, with the Jordan River trail and the neighborhood, and with people and the outdoors. Amongst these connections there is hope to create a productive and interactive space for the clients of Neighborhood House and the surrounding community, a place where creativity and imagination can come to life. The possibilities are endless: gardens of flowers and vegetables, outdoor pottery studios, fruit trees, interactive riparian natural areas, outdoor classrooms, even a mosaic of community art.

Our hope is to combine the creative energies of our committed partners to produce a self sustaining, implementable plan for this space to be put into effect this coming spring. This is an exciting opportunity to build community and a blossoming future for the area. We bring to this proposal passion, vision, and a network of resources. But this vision will never be achieved without a committed group of community members. So, Neighborhood House and the University of UtahÕs Westside Studio class ask you to imagine your connection to this space, and to give us your ideas and input as this project develops to truly create a strong, healthy and thriving community space.

Sponsored by the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation and the University of Utah Department of City & Metropolitan Planning.

About The Neighborhood House Garden Project

Participating Community Partners: