Development Boom Threatens Philadelphia’s Urban Agriculture

"Land in [Philadelphia] has steadily become more valuable over the last decade and as more eager buyers seek out the city's abandoned and publicly owned lots, the gardeners who claimed them when no one wanted them have increasingly found themselves unable to compete," writes Catalina Jaramillo.

The Philadelphia Land Bank, created in 2013 to streamline the city's sale of vacant and tax-delinquent properties, had committed to selling vacant lands to community agriculture groups. But advocates say that hasn't happened, and meanwhile, existing community gardens continue to be sold off by city agencies.

Now, the city is launching an urban agriculture master plan through the Office of Sustainability’s Food Policy Advisory Council. The plan will "establish goals and metrics, formalize commitments to urban agriculture, engage in a land suitability analysis, develop funding strategies, and create roadmaps for interagency coordination and public-private partnerships," according to Sustainability Director Christine Knapp.