Project Overview

This project maps Seattle's P-Patch community gardens alongside the city's light rail network to help residents more easily locate accessible, local, and nutritious food options. In a city where transit access and healthy food availability vary widely by neighborhood, this tool aims to bridge the gap by visualizing how close community members are to fresh produce grown in their own communities.

Data Integration

At its core, the project integrates publicly available geospatial datasets, specifically P-Patch garden locations and Sound Transit light rail station data. By cleaning and mapping these datasets together, this tool highlights areas where transit accessibility and local food sources intersect, as well as areas where access is limited.

The map is designed to be simple, intuitive, and visually clear, enabling users to quickly understand what's nearby, how to get there, and what opportunities exist to participate in Seattle's urban agriculture network.

Food Equity & Community Impact

Beyond producing a useful interactive map, the project also explores broader questions about food equity, transit connectivity, and the role of community gardens in supporting sustainable, community-driven food systems. Many Seattle residents, especially those in transit-dependent or under-resourced neighborhoods, face structural barriers to reaching affordable, healthy food.

By making this spatial information easy to explore, the project supports residents, planners, and community advocates in identifying gaps, proposing interventions, and celebrating the areas where local food access is already thriving.

Why This Matters

Ultimately, this project emphasizes that healthy, culturally diverse, and locally grown food should be within reach for everyone. By combining open data with thoughtful design, it aims to empower individuals, strengthen community connections, and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable Seattle.