Urban Agriculture

Lori Rotenberk reports on a new seven-acre urban “accelerator farm” announced yesterday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that seeks to fill Chicago's farmer drought and deepens the city's investment in building its agricultural sector.

March 16, 2013 - Grist

Most plants grown for food require significant amounts of water - water that Los Angeles doesn't have. How does one identify the point at which local isn't sustainable?

February 11, 2013 - Lisa Feldstein

In Chicago, like in many cities, local food production comes in many forms, from small backyard crops to community gardens. Researchers are now using Google Earth to paint a more accurate picture of food production at different scales.

January 13, 2013 - NPR

By a narrow vote, Detroit's City Council has given approval for the city to sell 140 acres of vacant land to financial services business owner John Hantz for the creation of an urban agriculture project. Some are calling the deal a "land grab."

December 12, 2012 - The Detroit News

Yolande Cole discusses some of the elements being considered for Vancouver's new city-wide food strategy, which "will include over 60 actions intended to expand [the city's] food system."

November 26, 2012 - Straight.com

Officials in Chicago envision an ambitious plan for a 100-acre urban agriculture district as the foundation for reviving an area of the city now "riddled with vacant lots, poverty, and blight," reports Lori Rotenberk.

November 18, 2012 - Grist

Urban agriculture is a hot topic in sustainability, food, and planning circles. From roof and deck gardens to community gardens to urban farms, urban agriculture has captured the imaginations of activists of many stripes as well as gardeners and eaters. When I mention that my academic work focuses on food access in urban areas, the most common response I get is “oh, you mean like urban ag?” As this interest in urban agriculture grows, some are asking whether food sovereignty – the ability for a population to produce enough food to feed itself – is a feasible goal for American cities. 

October 11, 2012 - Lisa Feldstein

Vancouver has the most farmland and farmers in North America. However, as Vancouver booms, the thriving agricultural belt that surrounds Greater Vancouver is at risk from an expanding city.

October 7, 2012 - Vancouver Magazine

Riding a tide of environmental consciousness and self-sufficiency, the urban agriculture movement is gaining momentum in California. Urban farmers have been lobbying for zoning and other city regulations to bring an underground hobby into the light.

August 31, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Melanie Eversley writes on the healing power of urban gardens and farms for refugees new to the U.S. who are looking for a taste of home.

August 28, 2012 - USA Today

John Hoeffel reports on the unwavering efforts of bee enthusiasts to legalize beekeeping in residential areas of Los Angeles.

July 17, 2012 - The Los Angeles Times

Only a decade after the last family farm in the city closed, commercial agriculture is mining "the last slice of untapped real estate in the city" to reap a bounty of benefits - from locally grown basil and bok choy to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

July 13, 2012 - The New York Times

Community agriculture this is not. Large scale, urban agriculture is the vision of wealthy businessman and 20-year Detroit resident John Hantz that would transform blighted, East Side's vacant and city-owned properties into a profit-making tree farm.

July 8, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

A Los Angeles-based farming company aims to bring fresh, locally grown food to communities all around the city and transform their work into a political statement to shine a spotlight on sustainable practices.

June 27, 2012 - Good

With a year-round temperate climate and a history of widespread urban agriculture, it's a shame that Los Angeles now finds itself ranked 43rd amongst America's 50 largest cities for their support of local food. Can L.A. turn back the clock?

June 13, 2012 - Good

A Switzerland-based design group is bringing back the geodesic dome in a big way with an aquaponic greenhouse that can be placed on just about any flat roof, Zak Stone reports.

May 21, 2012 - Good

Alison Gregor highlights efforts by affordable housing developers to implement edible community gardens, bringing fresh food and neighborhood ties to inner-city tenants.

April 16, 2012 - The New York Times

Terrain.org's newest "UnSprawl" case study explores the new Serenbe development, a mixed-use community of three hamlets anchored by an organic farm and striving to be an Atlanta-region destination for its restaurants, inn, and more.

October 13, 2011 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

A recent study found that a city could completely live off food grown from urban agriculture. Sharanbir Grewal, the study's author, discovered in his analysis of Cleveland that the city could produce up to 48 percent of the city's fresh produce.

September 14, 2011 - Smart Planet

A comment I hear frequently from planners is that the focus on food and planning is “trendy”. I must admit that this puzzles me quite a bit. Professional planners in rural areas have concentrated on planning for agriculture – food planning – for decades. Before we had professional planners, human populations planned their communities around food, whether they were planning how best to follow herds for hunting, structuring early agricultural societies, or developing the first cities where food proximity and trade were central considerations. 

May 20, 2011 - Lisa Feldstein