Local food systems are under stress - from development pressures on farmland, to transportation infrastructure, to distribution opportunities. Written in jargon-free language, this collection of a dozen articles explores a variety of methods planners are using to address food access and agricultural land preservation.

Divided into three sections, Taking a Closer Look: Food, Farmland & Open Space addresses:

-- Land Conservation: Communities are recognizing the need to plan for open space - as a way to preserve sensitive areas, maintain water quality, safeguard view corridors, and much more;
-- Preserving the Working Landscape: The desire to preserve productive farmland, and keep it economically viable, has prompted planners to explore a range of techniques;
-- Feeding Our Communities: Communities are looking to understand and improve their local food systems, by examining how and where food is grown,distributed and consumed.

Articles published in the Planning Commissioners Journal by distinguished authors Edward McMahon, Joel Russell, Roberta Brandes Gratz, Randall Arendt and others are included in this volume. You'll also find related drawings by talented illustrator Paul Hoffman.

We can now get just about any food we want, at any time of the year, if we are willing to pay the costs - financial and environmental - of transporting it.
-- Hannah Twaddell, from "This Little Piggy Went to Market"

Related link: www.plannersweb.com/food.html

For more information please contact:
Betsey Krumholz
Planning Commissioners Journal
P. O. Box 4295
Burlington, VT 05406 USA