Orange trees in Berkeley, California. The remarkable absence of fallen fruit proves that public produce is prized in some communities. Photo by Darrin Nordahl. Orange trees in Berkeley, California. The remarkable absence of fallen fruit proves that public produce is prized in some communities. Photo by Darrin Nordahl.

It's a strikingly elegant idea once you stop to think about it: Why not let the trees and plants that fill our public spaces feed our stomachs as well as our eyes and our lungs? In Public Produce: Cultivating Our Parks, Plazas, and Streets for Healthier Cities, now available as a completely revised and updated edition of his 2009 book, Darrin Nordahl explores how cities across the country are making fresh produce a public good. Filled with concrete examples, the book offers an upliftingly democratic take on urban agriculture.