OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
HISTORY

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OWNERSHIP:
Boston Natural Areas Network

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CONDITIONS:
The Brookside Community Garden is located on Minton Street off of Amory Street near the Southwest Corridor Park. The 6,000-square-foot garden was established in 1995 and includes 25 plots used by community members. The garden features a handsome black steel fence and gate and an arbor that is alive with vines and flowers in the growing months.

The Brookside garden was developed with a $59,000 grant from the City's Public Facilities Department and matching funds from local residents and businesses. The Boston Natural Areas Fund (now Network), worked in partnership with the Brookside Neighborhood Association and other local, City, and State groups to establish the garden, which received a Community Garden Award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and continues to be diligently cared for by neighbors.

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CONTEXT:
In 2000, the census tract that includes the Brookside and Parkside neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain (tract 1203) had 43.9% white residents, 27.2% black or African American residents, and 50.7% Latino residents (people can be from one or more ethnic groups). Almost 66% of residents rent their homes, and 27% are under the age of 18. Twenty-three percent of individuals live below the poverty line, and the median household income in this area is $37,040. Almost 40% of the employed population depends on public transportation to get to work.

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HISTORY:
When the Orange Line and the Southwest Corridor Park were completed in 1987, a period of revitalization of the Brookside neighborhood began. New housing, a rehabilitated park, a popular community garden, and The Brewery Small Business Center have all been part of this revitalization. The Brookside Neighborhood Association has been instrumental in this process.

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