""I started noticing in the whole city the condition of these planters. That they aren't being maintained. There's weeds and garbage and graffiti and everything else.""
""I know some people that resent these because they said, 'Well, you know, they're really to get free from the homeless,' but we have services for the homeless.""
Mary Hickey, equipped with a shovel and wearing red rubber boots, began gardening to improve the neglected planters along Van Ness Avenue. Frustrated by the poor condition of these planters, which were filled with weeds, garbage, and graffiti, she took action after noticing their decline. Originally installed to beautify neighborhoods and deter homelessness, many planters have become problematic themselves, with some residents criticizing their purpose as hostile architecture. Neighbors like Dianne Eyer acknowledge the planters' dual role in beautification and as a means to address homelessness.
#community-gardening #urban-maintenance #hostile-architecture #neighborhood-beautification #homelessness-issues
Read at SFGATE
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