New and planned features like the Woodland Discovery Playground are changing the face of Shelby Farms Park, which now connects to the heart of Memphis via the Shelby Farms Greenline. Connecting cyclists to the city further, a growing web of bike lanes extend deep into new pockets of the city, where GrowMemphis' efforts have sown dozens of community gardens in formerly barren urban areas.

A converted MATA bus christened the Green Machine will soon begin hauling fresh fruits and vegetables into our city's so-called "food deserts," part of a project that involves such disparate groups as advertising firm archer>malmo and the graduate program of city and regional planning at the University of Memphis. MATA itself has joined the fight, adding hybrid and biofuel vehicles to its fleet, with an ambition of going all-sustainable as soon as possible. The bike racks on the fronts of some buses are further proof of our city's collective commitment to a new future.