Planning agriculture in the city

City planners are recognizing the importance of integrating food into a city's design. Last week, the Ontario Professional Planners Institute hosted a two-day symposium on healthy communities and food. I had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop on urban agriculture and city planning, presented by author Lorraine Johnson and Stewart Chisholm and Rebekka Hutton of Evergreen.

Case Studies: Rebekka highlighted several inspiring urban agriculture case studies across North America, including FoodCycles in Toronto, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, and Growing Power in Milwaukee. Beyond healthy, fresh food, each of these projects also provides educational programs and training opportunities to their communities. Closer to home, the Evergreen Brick Works demonstration gardens, which are open to the public, showcase innovative, intensive urban food growing techniques.

Urban Agriculture Policies: On the policy side, Stewart discussed several new enabling bylaws, such as allowing urban agriculture as a home occupation (Victoria), permitting backyard chickens (Vancouver), and revising zoning bylaws to support urban agriculture (Baltimore and Seattle).

Obstacles & Myths: Lorraine addressed urban agriculture obstacles and myths, which can be daunting to would-be food growers. Of great concern is soil pollution and the idea that cities are inherently dirty and unsuitable for growing food. The solution is to look into the history of the site, test the soil, and remediate the soil or raise the bed if the site is contaminated. Vandalism is another worry. Surprisingly little vandalism occurs, but when it does happen gardeners can take measures such as installing strategic rocks and planting prickly bushes to reduce impacts from others. However, the most effective remedy is engaging the community in the project; the more local residents are involved, the less vandalism occurs.

Rural vs. Urban Farms: One planner, who had an agricultural background, raised her concern about the lines between urban and rural land-use blurring. If urban agriculture becomes more prevalent, where does the separation between urban and rural food production begin? (I think her unspoken question was "Will urban farms threaten the survival of rural ones?")

Rebekka's answer was that farmers would always be needed, and no amount of urban farming could ever replicate or replace the output of rural farms. The importance of urban agriculture lies in strengthening the connection of people to their food and giving them a better appreciation of agriculture. For example, some city children have little understanding of where vegetables and fruit come from. An excellent way to educate them is through first-hand experience in urban gardens, especially if they will never have the opportunity to visit a rural farm.

Let's Get Growing! Including urban agriculture in a city's plan has multiple benefits, from improving access to fresh produce, to providing educational opportunities within the community, to contributing to a healthier environment. The video below, which I created for the workshop, discusses how urban agriculture can be integrated into a city's plan and how communities benefit as a result.