The North American Urban Agriculture Experience
Great new post on the World Bank's Sustainable Cities blog - featuring urban gardens in New Orleans, Oakland and elsewhere:
By Rana Amirtahmasebi
In a country where, in some places, a burger barely costs a dollar while a bag of baby carrots is priced nearly thrice as much, there’s plenty of work to be done to make healthy foods affordable – and accessible. There is no denying that food insecurity (of which cheap and nutritionally inadequate junk food is a major manifestation) is a concern in the US. In fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nearly 14.5 per cent Americans experienced food insecurity at some point in 2010.
To fight this, many cities across the US are assessing their food production potential and creating special legislation for promoting urban agriculture. Let me clarify that “urban” agriculture does not imply turning down high-density buildings in the city centers to build farms. As an urban planner I am a supporter of higher densities. However, the leftover land around the cities or the residential open spaces with no other obvious use could be used as productive fragments of land within the cities. But more on this later - maybe another blog entry!
In the US, urban agriculture began at the grassroots level as a social justice movement to combat food insecurity among under-privileged communities. Within a couple of decades, a growing demand resulted in local governments making an active effort to support urban agriculture. Sometime ago I documented some of New Orleans’ urban farms with my video camera.
The New Orleans effort is commendable. Especially since urban agriculture is not just about food security: it does great service to the cause of sustainable cities. At the most basic level, purchasing fresh and locally grown produce reduces energy needs and costs associated with long distance travel and refrigeration. City residents also benefit from cleaner air and cooler temperatures in the summer. Also, urban agriculture provides a great opportunity to convert unused land and water resources for food cultivation.
Based on my experience, ongoing urban agriculture efforts within the US can be categorized into three groups. Increasingly, cities are creating urban agriculture plans, food policy councils, and maps of potential locations for urban farms. READ MORE >>
Comments