GARDENING PARADISE

Austin digs up 8th best ranking nationwide for urban gardening, says report

In a “post-pandemic” world, Austinites are focusing their attention on one hobby in particular: urban gardening.

Photo courtesy of LawnStarter

Most Austinites probably started or picked back up on a hobby during the pandemic: crocheting, caring for houseplants, or reading, just to name a few. But now that we’ve adjusted, Austinites are focusing their attention on one hobby in particular: urban gardening.

In fact, Austin was ranked the No. 8 overall best city for urban gardening in a new report from local lawn care company LawnStarter. If you’re not familiar with the activity, it's about repurposing unused areas into green spaces for growing food or plants. Think of vertical plant walls, modular farming units, or the Central Austin Public Library’s rooftop garden. The 13.7-acre, green-focused transformation plans for Brodie Oaks also fits the bill.

The report is a way to commemorate April as Lawn and Garden Month (although we mostly recognize April as Earth Month). They compared 200 of the nation’s largest cities across four categories and 12 different metrics, such as easy access to gardening space, climate, number of gardening communities, and more.

Austin ranked No. 4 for the number of community food forests in the area and No. 2 for the highest number of local gardening social groups. In the category of the average annual number of cold days, the city came in at No. 66. And in the number of nurseries and gardening-supply stores per square mile, Austin ranked No. 93.

The top 10 best cities for urban gardening are:

No. 1 – New York City
No. 2 – Atlanta
No. 3 – San Francisco
No. 4 – Portland, Oregon
No. 5 – Tampa, Florida
No. 6 – Seattle
No. 7 – Miami
No. 8 – Austin
No. 9 – Pasadena, California
No. 10 – Orlando

If you live in an area with few or no community gardens, there are some alternatives. Kathy Kelley, a professor of horticultural marketing and business management at Penn State, says city dwellers can use their small patios or balconies to grow herbs and small fruits.

"Containers work for outdoor and indoor gardening, but there are many planters that will fit over outdoor balcony railings if there is a lack of floor space," she said. "There are lightweight containers that attach to glass for indoor gardening that can be used to grow microgreens, herbs, and small houseplants. Hanging baskets will also work for areas with limited floor space."

She also suggests trying out small hydroponic systems that require minimal effort.

"[They] only require homeowners to plug the unit in to an electrical socket, fill it with water, add fertilizer every other week, insert seed pods, and wait for flowers to bloom or plants to be ready for harvest," she added.

The report can be found on lawnstarter.com.

austin gardening urban renewal nature sustainability

Top of the class

UT Austin ranks among best U.S. schools for entrepreneurship in 2025

UT Austin, University of Texas at Austin, top Texas schools, best public universities, best colleges

Photo by Alexander Williams on Unsplash

undefined

The University of Texas at Austin has earned two top-10 spots on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s lists of the best graduate and undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies for 2025.

UT Austin's McCombs School of Business ranks seventh in the graduate category, and UT ranks second in the undergraduate category.

The school is no stranger to the prestigious national lists. In the 2024 rankings, UT also appeared as No. 2 among undergraduate programs, and No. 6 in the ranking for the best graduate programs.

This year marks the fourth time that the school has landed in the top 5 on the undergraduate side, and the 12th time in 15 years that McCombs has made the top 10 among graduate programs in the annual ranking, UT notes in a news release.

The only other schools in Texas to make either top-10 list for 2025 were Rice University (No. 1 graduate school) and the University of Houston (No. 1 undergraduate program).

Rankings for The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s 2025 lists were based on a survey of administrators at nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that offer entrepreneurship studies. Among the more than 40 factors used for the rankings were academic programs, faculty credentials, mentorship opportunities, and alumni entrepreneurship ventures.

"If the focus of the MBA program at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin were to be summed up in one word, it would be 'collaboration,'" reads the 2025 graduate schools report. "Students in more than 20 concentrations uniformly crow over its 'incredibly collaborative culture,' citing the 'supportive culture' as a top reason they ultimately picked the program. As a 'top 20 school,' the 'rigorous academic[s]' and 'focus on clean energy,' 'technology,' and 'entrepreneurship,' are other stand-out elements of the program."

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. Rice University
2. University of California-Los Angeles
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Babson College
6. University of Washington
7. University of Texas at Austin
8. University of Virginia
9. Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands
10. University of South Florida

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. University of Houston
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. Babson College
4. University of Washington
5. Washington University in St. Louis
6. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
7. University of Maryland-College Park
8. Miami University of Ohio
9. Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico
10. Northeastern University

---

The story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

entrepreneurship rankings ut business university-texas