Cities Developing Urban Agriculture Codes

Urban agriculture has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to deal with vacant properties, revitalize neighborhoods, and provide job skills and nutrition to local residents struggling with poverty and a lack of access to fresh produce.

According to the American Planning Association, urban agriculture involves the production of food for personal consumption, education, donation or sale and includes associated physical and organizational infrastructure, policies and programs within urban and suburban built environments.

In Austin, Texas, a working group of the Sustainable Food Policy Board is meeting to clarify and update city code related to urban farms, livestock, size of farm, employees and dwellings, according to the Austin Chronicle. The working group has been holding public sessions to gather input from urban farmers and community members about pending updates to the urban farm ordinance.

In April 2013, the Flint Farmers' Market reported that the Detroit City Council adopted the city's first urban agriculture zoning ordinance recognizing agriculture as a legitimate land use and setting standards for it.

Other cities working to update or create urban agriculture codes include Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Tucson, Arizona.

 
Related Links
Guide to Urban Farming in New York State, Cornell University, 2013 - A series of fact sheets to guide farmers producing food in urban centers and on the urban fringe. Topics include site contamination, soil renovation, rooftop farming, urban livestock and farming with neighbors.

Urban Agriculture, National Ag Library, USDA - This webpage provides a collection of urban agriculture resources developed by U.S. universities, other U.S. federal agencies, international organizations and other countries.

Urban Agriculture — Best Practices and Possibilities, University of Missouri Extension, 2012 - This report provides an overview of urban agriculture and local food system resources and practices across the United States, with an emphasis on providing resources that can encourage and support urban agriculture in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri.

Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places, American Planning Association, 2010 - This report explores issues related to agricultural practices within cities. It discusses how cities can facilitate urban agriculture and local food systems, provides case studies of nine U.S. cities that are working on urban agriculture and extensively summarizes urban agriculture codes in cities across North America.

Urban Agriculture: A Sixteen City Survey of Urban Agriculture Practices Across the Country, Emory Law School, 2011 - This report analyzes urban agriculture codes in 16 different cities and provides an overview of codes that cities may be interested in adopting.

Prepared by Diane Huntrods, June 3, 2013.