This is a great summary of an urban farming discussion that was sponsored by The National Building Museum in Washington, DC. One of Portland’s own, Steve Cohen from the city’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, was there to help answer the question of how to expand urban agriculture. It’s a great read…more of a summary really.
The panelists touch on most of the big issues in urban ag. Mr Cohen actually touched on a number of topics that are close to this POP farmer’s heart. My favorite comments from him are:
“We need to look at government land for urban food production as well.”
and
“There are lots of [viable business] models out there [for urban agriculture]. Philadelphia’s SPIN farming is a great model that allows for 3-4 planting seasons. You can plant over and over again. In other cities, small backyard farmers are delivering produce by bicycle. Some organizations come into your garden and provide advice on what to plant (for a fee) or even farm your yard for you. For one organization, they add one employee for every 75 urban farms they work on.”
