Urban Farming

Should Architects Be Citizen Scientists?

Can self-contained urban food systems exist in the core of our cities? Architect Darrick Borowski of New York based firm ARExA developed a model to determine just that.

August 21, 2015 - Doggerel

Shanghai China

China's Megacities May Soon Rely on Urban Farming

While widespread urban farming remains pipe dream in the United States, dwindling arable land and a mass shift to cities might make it a necessity in China.

March 31, 2015 - designboom

North view

Urban Farming Gains a Foothold in Houston

Operated by a pair of brothers, Finca Tres Robles is one of several Houston farms coaxing fresh produce from unused urban land. Increasingly, urban farmers compete with developers for space.

March 29, 2015 - OffCite

Los Angeles Embraces Urban Agriculture

A motion passed earlier this month calls for landowners to receive tax breaks for leasing vacant property for agriculture and farming.

October 23, 2014 - The Los Angeles Times

North view

Detroit Reaping Economic Development Benefits from Urban Farming

Urban farming has taken root as Detroit transforms. Now, farmers and entrepreneurs must continue to find new ways to profit from the city's new farming business model.

July 7, 2014 - The Detroit News

Urban Garden

Self Sufficiency Through Urban Farming

Lessons from a successful urban farming effort can be applied to achieve resource independence aside from just food.

March 22, 2014 - Architectural Review

Shipping Container Farms Save Water, Enable Year-Round Growth

Shipping container houses are all the rage right now. So why not a shipping container farm?

February 23, 2014 - Grist

Zoning Change Clears Way for Urban Farming in Boston

The urban farming movement won a big victory recently in Boston, where new zoning regulations allowed for the creation of certain kinds of commercial farms within city limits.

January 18, 2014 - Boston Globe

Eat the City: The Art of Urban Farming

Architectural historian Richard Ingersoll surveys creative 'civic agriculture' projects in the United States and Europe where abandoned lots have been transformed into edible landscapes.

June 24, 2013 - Places Journal

Bhaji Bazaar

Urban Farming Model Takes Off In Boston Suburb

A suburban farming model based on shared private garden plots springs up in Needham, Massachusetts. Could Kate Canney's experiment be an antidote to the challenge of finding farmland that plagues prospective farmers nationwide?

February 13, 2013 - Mother Earth News

Agrisaurus: An App for Growing Food

A new suite of tools to help you design, plan, and manage your plot is looking for investors on Kickstarter.

October 5, 2012 - Inhabitat

Comprehensive Plan Needed for NYC's Urban Agriculture

With 700 urban farms and gardens in New York City, a new report calls for a comprehensive approach to managing the city's urban agriculture, and offers recommendations for maximizing coordination between city agencies and urban farmers.

September 30, 2012 - Grist

Urban Gardening Under Threat in Africa

Urban gardening is sprouting to life across America, but urban locales in the developing world "have incorporated horticulture into their urban planning" for decades. In Africa, urbanization is threatening these essential parts of the food system.

September 4, 2012 - NPR

Harvesting Data Essential for Saving Urban Gardens

To preserve the spread of urban gardening, activists are beginning to map and document the many haphazard community gardens to gain recognition from landlords and city officials in hopes of warding off bulldozers.

September 3, 2012 - Grist

The Community-Building Power of Communal Gardens

Planted to solve a perceived food desert problem, urban gardens are harvesting more than just fresh, nutritious food. Neighborhoods surrounding gardens are seeing surprising declines in violent crime.

August 3, 2012 - Mother Jones

S.F. Fertilizes Vacant Lots and Rooftops With New Legislation

Last week, San Francisco's supervisors approved new legislation intended to jump-start urban farming throughout the city, reports John Upton.

July 25, 2012 - Grist

'War on Gardens' Spreads Like Weeds Across North America

Sarah Laskow notes the latest battlefronts in the growing 'war on gardens' being perpetrated by cities across North America.

July 21, 2012 - Grist

Breaking Down Barriers to Shared Open Space

Anne Marie Chaker reports on the emergence of the "shared backyard," in which a surprising number of neighbors are combining resources to create bigger gardens and more space to entertain.

June 15, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

A Place to Park Your Farm

A parking garage in downtown Vancouver is scheduled to be the first structure in North America to host a "paradigm shifting" 6,000-square-foot vertical farm.

May 11, 2012 - Designing Healthy Communities

Rooftop Farm Company Expands Into Brooklyn Industrial Park

Rich Calder reports on Brooklyn's newest urban-garden-in-an-industrial-park, and the environmental benefits it will offer.

March 25, 2012 - New York Post

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