Cities Ploughing the Way for Urban Ag Policy

Urban agriculture is booming. From produce planted in community gardens to rooftops and windowsills, cities around the world are turning green as more and more people recognize the benefits of urban agriculture. Urban farms have the potential to increase food security and nutrition for urban dwellers as well as enhance local economic development. They can also serve as tools for social integration for disadvantaged groups into urban network, as centers of community building, and as sources of recreation and education for urban citizens and schools. But even though urban agriculture has been recognized as a powerful tool for improving the sustainability of cities, local food systems have been largely excluded from city planning.

Policy has been slow to catch up with agricultural activity in cities leaving urban agriculture in a legal grey area, and many urban farmers face complicated decisions when the legal code does not apply. New York City has the most urban farms of any city in the country, but lacks citywide coordination when it comes to standards and regulations (1). The kinds of policies that are needed include legislation that defines what urban agriculture is and where and how it can be practiced. While many cities are struggling to translate the needs of urban farmers into effective policy, there are some cities which are leading the way with policies aimed at encouraging and supporting urban agriculture. Here are a few of those cities.

San Francisco

In April of 2011 an urban agriculture ordinance was signed into legislation to officially recognize urban farming throughout San Francisco. The ordinance was created through a cooperative effort between city officials and urban agriculture practitioners and advocates such as the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance. It amended the city planning code to allow for food production for personal and public use in the city, provide guidelines for urban farms, and regulate sales. The legislation also removed additional bureaucratic barriers for aspiring farmers. The urban agriculture program will also audit city owned land and rooftops to identify new public gardening sites and develop incentives for owners of vacant lots to allow their land to be used for urban agriculture.

Additionally, in 2012 California passed the urban agriculture incentive zones act, also known as AB551, which allows cities and counties to provide landowners with a property tax deduction in exchange for committing their land to urban agriculture for five years. So far San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose and Santa Clara County have oped into the program and passed local laws establishing urban ag incentive zones.

Toronto

While Toronto has many urban agriculture projects, rooftops are definitely its specialty. In January of 2010 Toronto became the first city in North America to require the installment of green roofs on new commercial, industrial, institutional and residential buildings across the city. A green rooftop is essentially a rooftop with vegetation. These roofs have the potential to reduce urban heat island and associated energy demand, improve air quality, absorb rainwater before it becomes runoff, and increase biodiversity in urban environments. In 2016, Toronto was recognized for having the most green roof area installed of all north american cities

Detroit

Urban agriculture has a rich history in Detroit dating back to the 1890s when Detroit Mayor Hazen S. Pingree launched his potato patch plan which encouraged the cultivation of vacant lots in the city. In 2013 Detroit passed an urban agriculture ordinance, a piece of zoning legislation which recognized urban agriculture as a legally permitted activity.

Portland

Portland is no rookie to the urban agriculture scene. The city adopted a community gardening program in 1975. In 2012 Portland passed an Urban Food Zoning Code which provided guidelines for food production and distribution within city limits such as market and community gardens, CSAs and farmers markets.

National

In 2016 Senator Debbie Stabenow introduced the urban agriculture act of 2016 with the hopes of getting it included in the next farm bill. The bill aims to increase economic opportunities for urban farmers by supporting the creation of urban farm co-ops to help bring products to market, expanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture farm loan programs to include urban farmers, investing in urban agriculture research and improving access to local foods. The bill also calls for the creation of an office of urban agriculture under the USDA and authorizes up to a total of $860 million over 10 years in new investments for urban agriculture. If this legislation makes it into the final 2018 Farm Bill it would be the first time urban farmers have been included in federal legislation (2).

1. Farr, Emily. “How Brooklyn Is Working Toward a Comprehensive Urban Agriculture Plan.”Edible Brooklyn, 1 Sept. 2017, www.ediblebrooklyn.com/2017/brooklyn-urban-agriculture-legislation/.
2. Helmer, Jodi. “Will This New Bill Level the Playing Field for Urban Farms?” Civil Eats, 3 Dec. 2016, civileats.com/2016/10/13/will-this-new-bill-level-the-playing-field-for-urban-farms/.