Wellington, New Zealand is using urban spaces as canvases to provoke public opinions or promote young artists.

Founded on the belief that fruit should be a commonly shared resource, art project Fallen Fruit began with the idea to map all the fruit trees growing on or over public property in Los Angeles and other American cities (see maps here). But since that time, the project — created by David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young — has expanded beyond its initial scope to include planning fruit parks in areas that lack such natural resources, and other multidisciplinary initiatives.
For example, back in 2006, the group participated in Civic Matters, a two-week residency project at Los Angeles Contemporary [...]

In Windsor, Ontario, ‘creative research group’ Broken City Lab uses art as a means to “tactically disrupt and engage the city, its communities, and its infrastructures to reimagine the potential for action in the collapsing post-industrial city.”
Located just across the river from Detroit, Windsor shares a similar economic plight to that of its U.S. neighbor, mainly its reliance on automotive manufacturing as a primary source of revenue (Windsor is home to one of Chrysler’s Minivan plants, among others).
And just as groups like Detroit Unreal Estate Agency seek to shed light on the urban landscape that has slipped off the [...]

21st Century Plowshare went on a mission this past April to transform the urban landscape of Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The group set out to plant wildflower seeds on every single patch of abandoned soil within the neighborhood, creating a massive”urban meadow”. We’ll keep an eye out to watch the results of this interesting rewilding project.
[via eyebeam reblog]

After years of fund raising, labor, and eager anticipation, New York’s newest structural reclamation is open to the public. The raised swath of green takes visitors off of the streets and into a new artificial urban canopy. Many have already flocked to the High Line this week, whether hoping for a new perspective above an old city, or simply curious. We’ve gathered some of the most interesting reactions to Manhattan’s newest park, both visual and written.
Wallpaper presents a beautifully shot and interestingly narrated short film, detailing in motion both its history and its singular, hybridized union of industrial materials and [...]

Gothamist reports that an urban mini-golf course will be opening up in Brooklyn this summer, starting on June 6th. “The Putting Lot” will be installed inside a formerly trash-filled vacant lot within the transitional neighborhood of Bushwick. Each of the nine holes of the course are being created by separate teams of artists and architects who will bring imaginative designs to the project. The goal of The Putting Lot (besides fun) is to explore ideas of urban sustainability and community by using abandoned spaces in fresh ways.
They explain:
Unused, underutilized, and otherwise empty spaces are abundant in the industrial area around [...]

Renew Newcastle is a new initiative which makes use of vacant or abandoned buildings within the Newcastle Central Business District in Southeastern Australia.  Headed by Marcus Westbury, a writer, broadcaster, festival director, media maker and Newcastle local, the not-for-profit company connects artists, cultural projects and community groups with vacant spaces in an attempt to temporarily make use of and maintain these buildings, whilst supporting the creative community.
While the long term prospects for the redevelopment of Newcastle’s CBD are good, in the meantime many sites are boarded up, falling apart, vandalised or decaying because they are is no short term [...]