5 reasons why cities should create an office of urban agriculture
The mission of an urban agriculture office reaches across an array of city priorities, from housing and health to public park use and zoning.
By Kate Lee And Michael Shank
Fast Company
July 14, 2023
[City Farmer was the first Office of Urban Agriculture named in 1978 in Vancouver BC Canada. It has continuously worked as such an office since that date. Mike]
Excerpt:
There’s a new movement cropping up in city governments across America. It’s apolitical enough that it can avoid the polarization that comes with other climate initiatives. And it’s easy to incorporate because it spans many aspects of city governance and life, with a variety of benefits that meet a wide array of city goals.
It’s the creation of a city office focused solely and specifically on urban agriculture. Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Boston are among the urban adopters to hire a “director of urban agriculture” in recent years. But increasingly, more and more cities are introducing such a position. There are now more than a dozen cities participating in a soon-to-be-launched Urban Ag Directors Network.
A director of urban agriculture provides valuable and impactful work that sits at the intersection of people and planetary health—the physical health of a community and the environment in which it sits. The mission and mandate of an urban agriculture office also transcends and cross-pollinates multiple city departments. It’s the nexus of many diverse focus areas for a city, from housing and health to public park use and zoning.
Urban land-use policies have traditionally favored residential and business needs and demands. And only has the recent escalation of the climate crisis highlighted the imperative of incorporating and preserving vibrant green space into city planning. Additionally, farming yields limited profits, making the cost of urban living hard for farmers. And only in recent years have we seen the growth in access to technologies that are expanding the ways we can grow produce without dirt or sunlight.
