Resource Library
Browse 100+ resources on food systems law and policy.
Farming Without Permission
This case study examines how Philadelphia’s urban agriculture community successfully reformed Pennsylvania’s adverse possession law to reduce the required continuous land use period from 21 to 10 years, creating a new pathway for community gardeners to secure legal title and protect long-tended gardens from development and displacement.
Topic: Farmland Access, Heirs' Property Audience: Attorneys, Policymakers, Researchers, Technical Assistance ProvidersState Incentives to Clear Title and Facilitate Property Transfer
This case study assesses how Vermont property owners prevent and resolve clouded title and heirs’ property by using deeds to avoid probate, a property tax system that incentivizes clearing title, and methods for correcting clouded title that do not require a full probate process. These incentives serve as examples for other similarly rural states with heirs’ property issues.
Topic: Farmland Access, Heirs' Property Audience: Attorneys, GrowersHeirs’ Property: Understanding the Legal Issues by State
Factsheets that aim to prevent the loss of land owned as heirs’ property in specific states. Each examines state laws that are relevant to heirs’ property owners, and outlines steps owners can take to resolve property issues before seeing an attorney.
Topic: Farmland Access, Healthy Food Access, Urban Agriculture Audience: Community Organizations, Policymakers, ResearchersZoning for Urban Agriculture
This guide includes a range of examples from cities across the country showing how zoning can support urban agriculture and provides action steps for changing zoning laws to better support urban agriculture.
Topic: Farmland Access, Healthy Food Access, Urban Agriculture Audience: Community Organizations, Growers, Policymakers, ResearchersGrowing Food Where You Live
This resource discusses the different legal obstacles to growing food for those who rent their home, lease the land they live on, or live in common interest communities, and provides examples of local laws that support growing food where you live.