Urban agriculture and innovative production—ranging from community gardens on vacant lots to multi-acre for-profit farms to high-tech indoor hydroponics operations—expand access to fresh food, create green space, support biodiversity, and facilitate local economic growth. Yet urban food producers often face barriers as they navigate their city’s complex local policy landscape.
CAFS’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Policy Project identifies these common challenges—particularly related to land and water access, zoning, governance, and urban soil health—while highlighting strategies for both producers and policymakers to better support urban agriculture through local policy. With support from the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), this project is based on a research scan of 17 cities designated by USDA as “urban agriculture hubs,” including interviews with more than 120 farmers, city leaders, urban agriculture supporters, and other stakeholders, as well as insight from advisors that represent these sectors.
