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Urban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground Urban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Lynn Ekblad, Different Angles, Ames, Iowa Graphics by Richard Beachler, Instructional Technology Center, Iowa State University, Ames ISBN 1-887383-20-4 ISSN 0194-4088 05 04 03 02 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Urban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 1-887383-20-4 (alk. paper) 1. Urban agriculture. 2. Land use, Urban. 3. Agriculture--Economic aspects. I. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. S494.5.U72 U74 2002 630'.91732-dc21 2002005851 CIP Task Force Report No. 138 May 2002 Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Ames, Iowa Task Force Members Lorna Michael Butler (Cochair and Lead Coauthor), College of Agriculture, Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, Iowa State University, Ames Dale M. Maronek (Cochair and Lead Coauthor), Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Contributing Authors Nelson Bills, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Tim D. Davis, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, Dallas Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust, Northampton, Massachusetts Frank M. Howell, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State John Kelly, Public Service and Agriculture, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina Lawrence W. Libby, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus Kameshwari Pothukuchi, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan Diane Relf, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg John K. Thomas, Department of Rural Sociology, Texas A&M University and the Texas Agricultural Experi- ment Stations, College Station Paul B. Thompson, Department of Philosophy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana Reviewers Mark B. Lapping, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland Douglas J. Lawrence, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washing- ton, D.C. John J. Sloan, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University–Dallas, Dallas ii Contents Interpretive Summary . 1 Agriculture's Contributions to Urbanization, 1 Policy and Institutional Dimensions, 1 New Visions for Urban Agriculture, 2 Conclusions, 3 Executive Summary . 4 Introduction, 4 Agriculture's Service Role, 8 Agriculture's Benefits to the Urbanizing Society, 8 Recreation and Leisure, 8 Policy and Institutional Dimensions of Urban Agriculture, 9 New Visions for Urban Agriculture, 10 Conclusions, 11 1 Introduction . 12 The Rural-Urban Agroecosystem, 13 Urban Agriculture Defined, 14 Objectives, 14 Historical Context of Agriculture, 15 Agriculture Represents an Opportunity, 17 Background and Situation, 18 Recent U.S. Demographic Changes, 22 Today's Rural-Urban Agriculture, 23 Myths, Stereotypes, and Realities, 24 The Scope of Urban Agriculture, 25 2 Agriculture's Service Role in the Urbanizing Society. 27 Introduction, 27 Agroecosystem Services for Restoration and Remediation, 27 Storm Water Management, 27 Water Remediation and Wastewater Reclamation, 28 Waste Recycling, 30 Carbon Sequestration, 31 Remediation of Brownfields, 31 3 Agriculture's Service Role in Planning and Revitalization . 33 Introduction, 33 Managing Growth, 34 Landscape and Energy Modifications, 35 Indoor-Outdoor Air Quality, 36 Insect, Disease, and Wildlife Management, 36 Conserving and Revitalizing Land Areas, 38 Merging the Interests of Stakeholders in the Planning Process, 40 4 Agriculture's Busines Contribution to the Urbanizing Society . 41 Introduction, 41 Environmental Horticulture and the Green Industry, 41 Nursery and Greenhouse Crop Production, 42 iii iv Contents Retail Garden Centers and Nurseries, 43 Landscape Design, Installation, and Maintenance, 43 Turfgrass Production and Management, 44 Foliage Plants and Interiorscapes, 44 Cut Flowers, 45 Companion Animal Industry, 46 Equine Industry, 46 Aquaculture, 47 5 Agriculture's Contributions to Community Health and Well-Being . 48 Introduction, 48 Individual Health and Well-Being, 48 Community Quality of Life, 51 Community Food Systems, 53 Community Supported Agriculture, 54 Entrepreneurial Food Gardens and Farms, 55 Farmers' Markets, 58 Farm-to-Table Programs, 60 6 Recreation and Leisure . 62 Introduction, 62 On-Farm Recreation and Entertainment Farming, 62 Consumer Horticulture, 63 Horticultural Tourism, 64 Touring Green Industry Businesses, 64 Public Gardens and Zoos, 65 Golf and Other Sports, 66 7 Policy and Institutional Dimensions of Urban Agriculture . 68 Introduction, 68 Setting Policy, 69 Land Protection Initiatives, 70 The Farmland Protection Toolbox, 71 Regulatory Programs, 71 Incentive Programs, 72 8 New Visions for Urban Agriculture. 78 Introduction, 78 Comprehensive Planning, 80 Public Policy, 81 Land Use, 81 Food Systems, 82 Human Capital Development, 83 Higher Education, 83 Research, 85 Partnerships and Collaboration, 89 Conclusions, 93 Appendix A: Tables . 95 Appendix B: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols . 108 Appendix C: Glossary . 109 Literature Cited . 111 Index . 118 Figures S.1 Rural and urban areas of Richmond, Virginia, 4 S.2 Corn production in Colorado, 6 S.3 Neighborhood residents in Chicago, Illinois, work in the community vegetable garden, 6 S.4 Researchers in Arizona spray a mix of common liquid dishwashing detergent and cooking oil that kills sweet potato whiteflies, as well as several common home garden pests, 8 S.5 Visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden enjoy a summer day in the English Oak Meadow, 9 1.1 Understanding the functionality of the rural-urban agroecosystem within an urbanizing society can be helpful in establishing how parts interact with each other and areas of common ground to ensure the health of the whole society, including the total agricultural system, 14 1.2 Today's urban agriculture system is a complex system composed of a central core of activities along with a wide variety of services and outcomes that support the total population, 14 1.3 The rural-urban agroecosystem encompasses a series of shared problems, goods and services, and bene- fits. Although the problems are not always common to all urban and rural agricultural communities, the examples show ways that goods and services can be mutually beneficial, 18 2.1 Wetland and streamside vegetation serves as a buffer to filter excess nutrients from water running off agricultural land, 28 2.2 A view into the South Burlington Living Machine Wastewater Treatment System in Vermont. Many economically viable plants can be produced in these systems including cut flowers, landscape plants, and even food for humans and animals, 30 2.3 A Suwanee County, Florida, poultry farmer adds water to compost to keep the bacteria working that ultimately turn chicken waste into usable topsoil, 30 3.1 Mahantango Creek watershed near Klingerstown, Pennsylvania. The combination of land use, soil prop- erties, and hydrogeology largely determines vulnerability to surface and groundwater contamination by agricultural activities, 33 3.2 In a wind tunnel, a technician prepares to measure how live plants and straw residue slow windblown soil erosion, 35 3.3 Technicians at the base of a 3-story rainfall simulator study rainfall interception by foliage, 36 3.4 A local resident works in a community garden in Chicago, Illinois, 39 4.1 A homeowner and his daughter weed a flower garden in front of their home in Placerville, California, 41 4.2 Poinsettia is the number-one flowering potted plant in the United States, even though its traditional sales period is just six weeks, 42 4.3 Greenhouse production of bedding plants, 43 4.4 Lawn and garden retail sales and store numbers for various types of retail outlets represented in the top 100 U.S. retailers, 43 v vi figures 4.5 Street vendor selling cut flowers, 45 4.6 Horses graze next to housing in Montgomery County, Maryland, 46 4.7 Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farm in Mississippi, 47 5.1 Raised-bed gardens make gardening accessible to all ages and ability levels, 49 5.2 Gardening can be enjoyed by persons of all ages, 50 5.3 Residents enjoy their community garden at the Northpoint Apartments in Mt. Olive, North Carolina, 51 5.4 Assisted by staff from the Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago public school students work in a teaching garden, 52 5.5 An abundance of fresh vegetables is offered for sale at a weekly farmers' market, 54 5.6 The Crescent City Farmers' Market meets in New Orleans, Louisiana, every Saturday morning, 58 5.7 A soil conservationist and a graduate student at Fresno State University check on the growth of Asian vegetables that will be sold at local farmers' markets, 59 6.1 Visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden enjoy a stroll through Sansho-En, the Japanese Garden, 62 6.2 Visitors can tour the grounds at Calloway's Stonegate Nursery, a retail garden center in Fort Worth, Texas, 65 6.3 The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California, 65 6.4 A Chicago Botanic Garden staff member joins students at the Von Schiller School to plant a new commu- nity garden, 66 8.1 Common problems and potential impacts within the rural-urban agroecosystem, 79 8.2 A faculty member points out qualities of a pond-raised
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