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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.

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;
Fort Collins, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon.

For more information, see USDA's National Ag Library webpage on Urban Agriculture.

Home » Renewable Energy » Climate Change and Agriculture » Land Use and Sequestration

Newsletter Articles

Agricultural Research Combats Global Warming - Don Hofstrand - September 2010
Indirect Land Use: The Folly of Over-Indulgent Environmentalism? - Mark Edelman - January 2010
Using Biochar Systems to Sequester Carbon - Don Hofstrand - January 2010
More Perspectives on Indirect Land Use Change Effects - William Jaeger - December 2009
Biochar - A Multitude of Benefits - Don Hofstrand - December 2009

Information Files

The Global Warming and Land Use Impact of Corn Ethanol Produced at the Illinois River Energy Center – University of Illinois.
Agriculture and Land Use – IPCC.
The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States – U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
The Climatic Impact of Land Use Change – ScienceDirect.com.
Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential in U.S. Forestry and Agriculture
Economics of Sequestering Carbon in the U.S. Agriculture Sector – USDA.

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