A study was conducted to determine the shifts in open space availability between 1950 and 2003 in four neighborhoods in the North Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Total open space in square feet and open spaces ten thousand square feet and less were quantified to determine the extent of usable open space for the creation of community gardens or vest pocket parks.

The study identified large reductions of open space recently in the two least affluent study areas. The two more affluent study areas have also lost open space recently, but not at the magnitude of the poorer study areas. The lot sizes in the more affluent study areas tend to be larger, and access to traditional open spaces (parks) is better. In contrast, the two less affluent study areas only have vacant lots as open space, and this resource is shrinking due to new construction. Without a new framework regarding open space policy being put into effect soon, open space in the four study areas investigated for this study may be difficult to find.