Operated by a pair of brothers, Finca Tres Robles is one of several Houston farms coaxing fresh produce from unused urban land. Increasingly, urban farmers compete with developers for space.
In June 2014, Thomas and Daniel Garcia-Prats founded Finca Tres Robles (in English, Three Oaks Farm) in an industrial area of Houston's East End. But their domain may soon be contested: "The access to vacant land has been an issue this past year, with Houston's booming real estate market coming at odds with growing operations, like the community garden lost to townhouses in Midtown. The brothers Garcia-Prats have a deal with a local business that's leasing them their odd-shaped 1.25-acre lot at an affordable rate for a minimum of 3 years."
Recently, urban farming has become more popular in a city with abundant, relatively cheap land. It's seen as a way to pursue local resilience and self-sufficiency. "The brothers speak specifically about tracking their water usage so that they can be independent from the city's water supply, with talk of sensors being installed in the future along crop rows to monitor moisture levels."
In a further bid for independence from the gentrification process, the brothers want to steer clear of the hipster economy. "To avoid becoming simply a farm supplying chic local restaurants, Finca Tres Robles has made it their mission to sell the majority of their fruits and vegetables to folks in the 77011 area code."
FULL STORY: Finca Tres Robles: Urban Farming on the Rise in Houston
Guidebook: Lowering Barriers to Urban Farming
Urban agriculture has long been a staple of sustainable urbanism—in theory. Can policy changes help it become much more than that? This guidebook offers tactics and policies that planners can use to promote urban farms.
The Local Food Movement Goes Online
Online tools designed to connect local farmers with consumers are helping sustain the local food and urban agriculture movements.
Fish: the Future of Urban Farming
Cityscape Farms has developed a new technique for farming fish along with vegetables in combined urban food systems that allows them to farm in developed areas.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
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