Turning vacant city lots into farms
The urban agricultural movement in this nation is progressing rapidly. Cities from New York to Seattle are combating economic struggles by turning vacant city lots into farms and feeding their impoverished neighborhoods with locally grown foods.
Urban agriculture is the practice of growing plants and raising animals within or around cities. Urban residents usually provide the labor necessary to cultivate, process, and distribute food, and urban residents are often the consumers of this food. Organic waste can be used as compost, and organic wastewater can be used for irrigation.
According to the New York Times, demand for locally grown produce is at an all-time high. Farmers markets are becoming more popular as traditional markets continue to sell inorganic produce and genetically modified foods.
Here are some examples of the urban agricultural movement at work:
A Farm at New York’s Battery
A one-acre farm grows at the Battery, and it’s designed in the shape of a turkey. A real wild turkey even lives there—her name is Zelda. The bird-shaped garden is defined by a fence made from bamboo poles originally used in a roof garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The garden shakes whenever the subway runs underneath. The vegetables grown include broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport
Fresh organic produce is grown in this “aeroponic” garden nestled in the rotunda building between terminals. The garden uses a solution of water and minerals instead of soil. The seeds start in containers made of “a natural volcanic ash material” and are moved to tall towers once grown. The garden produces 44 organic vegetables and herbs, and it uses and recycles water.
Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Program
This boot-camp urban garden program prepares inmates for jobs in the growing green-collar industry. Behind razor wire, Cook County inmates manage a three-quarter-acre vegetable farm that produces tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and kale. Inmates receive instruction and certification in sustainable horticulture in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago.
Some cities are building greenhouse farms on urban roofs. Others are forming groups to raise chickens so they can deliver fresh eggs to urban dwellings. Many cities and groups are promoting policies to encourage the growth of farmers markets. According to the USDA, there are now more than 6,000 farmers markets nationwide.
Detroit currently has our country’s largest urban farm, but urban farms are being planted everywhere—even on city hall properties. Obviously, urban agriculture is not just here to STAY … it’s growing!