"The highest and best use of land in the city"

United States cities have developed urban agri­culture support systems with different priorities and institutional structures, with significant impacts and implications for social equity and justice. Some treat farming and gardening as public goods, public spaces, valued for their community-buildin...

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Main Author: Domenic Vitiello
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems 2022-06-01
Series:Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1084
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author Domenic Vitiello
author_facet Domenic Vitiello
author_sort Domenic Vitiello
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description United States cities have developed urban agri­culture support systems with different priorities and institutional structures, with significant impacts and implications for social equity and justice. Some treat farming and gardening as public goods, public spaces, valued for their community-building, environmental and public health promotion, and other social benefits. Others have sought to extract more economic and redevelopment gains from urban agriculture. These represent divergent, often opposing expectations of what urban agriculture can yield, and what it should be, often present in the same city. This article, a combination of mixed methods research and reflection, traces the evolution of urban agriculture practice, support, and policy in Philadelphia and Chicago since the 1990s. In both cities, community gardens first declined and then grew in number since the late 2000s; both cities became prominent centers of urban farming. The two cities’ policies and support systems started from a similar place in the 1990s, but Chicago increasingly treated urban agriculture a public good, while the place of agriculture in Philadelphia remained more contested and unstable. These histories reflect broader tensions and the diversity of approaches in governing, supporting, and practicing agriculture in cities.
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spelling doaj.art-4864c745cbd24f69adb6f32c739593e92023-09-02T14:49:18ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012022-06-0111310.5304/jafscd.2022.113.019"The highest and best use of land in the city"Domenic Vitiello0University of Pennsylvania United States cities have developed urban agri­culture support systems with different priorities and institutional structures, with significant impacts and implications for social equity and justice. Some treat farming and gardening as public goods, public spaces, valued for their community-building, environmental and public health promotion, and other social benefits. Others have sought to extract more economic and redevelopment gains from urban agriculture. These represent divergent, often opposing expectations of what urban agriculture can yield, and what it should be, often present in the same city. This article, a combination of mixed methods research and reflection, traces the evolution of urban agriculture practice, support, and policy in Philadelphia and Chicago since the 1990s. In both cities, community gardens first declined and then grew in number since the late 2000s; both cities became prominent centers of urban farming. The two cities’ policies and support systems started from a similar place in the 1990s, but Chicago increasingly treated urban agriculture a public good, while the place of agriculture in Philadelphia remained more contested and unstable. These histories reflect broader tensions and the diversity of approaches in governing, supporting, and practicing agriculture in cities. https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1084Community GardensUrban FarmsCity PolicyGovernanceUrban Agriculture Support SystemsChicago
spellingShingle Domenic Vitiello
"The highest and best use of land in the city"
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Community Gardens
Urban Farms
City Policy
Governance
Urban Agriculture Support Systems
Chicago
title "The highest and best use of land in the city"
title_full "The highest and best use of land in the city"
title_fullStr "The highest and best use of land in the city"
title_full_unstemmed "The highest and best use of land in the city"
title_short "The highest and best use of land in the city"
title_sort the highest and best use of land in the city
topic Community Gardens
Urban Farms
City Policy
Governance
Urban Agriculture Support Systems
Chicago
url https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1084
work_keys_str_mv AT domenicvitiello thehighestandbestuseoflandinthecity