With 700 urban farms and gardens in New York City, a new report calls for a comprehensive approach to managing the city's urban agriculture, and offers recommendations for maximizing coordination between city agencies and urban farmers.
The report, called "Five Borough Farm: Seeding the Future of Urban Agriculture" seeks to coalesce key stakeholders in support of urban agriculture. Jared Green reports, "[t]he project seeks to create a comprehensive 'road map' with the goal of helping stakeholders - policymakers, community groups, farmers, and designers - 'understand and weigh the benefits' of urban agriculture, while making a compelling case for significantly ramping up local government support for this growing field. Basically, if you've been looking for a thorough examination of all the policy aspects of urban farming, this is it."
The benefits of urban gardening have been well-understood for some time, and the practice has been growing in popularity across the U.S. "But, unfortunately, in New York and so many other cities, there's still a disconnect between official policy and the bottom-up grassroots movement being led by gardeners, farmers, and landscape architects," writes Green.
Some of the greatest "obstacles to future growth" include challenges in obtaining resources (soil, growing space, tools), financing, and race and class issues. Proponents hope a comprehensive approach will help increase local government support, financing, and promote a better understanding of urban agriculture's role in the city's economy and public health.
FULL STORY: A road map for urban agriculture in NYC
New York Could Launch an Urban Agriculture Plan, Zoning Overhaul
New York's ability to feed itself with locally grown urban agriculture is only being partially realized. Better planning, specific to urban agriculture, would help.
Urban Gardening Under Threat in Africa
Urban gardening is sprouting to life across America, but urban locales in the developing world "have incorporated horticulture into their urban planning" for decades. In Africa, urbanization is threatening these essential parts of the food system.
NYC Jumps on the Gravy (or, uh, Tomato) Train
Mayor Michael Bloomberg ramps up efforts to support NYC's growing urban food cluster via set up new legislation, signed yesterday.
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How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
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The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research