Urban Farming

Urban agriculture can be defined as growing fruits, herbs, and vegetables and raising animals in cities, a process that is accompanied by many other complementary activities such as processing and distributing food, collecting and reusing food waste and rainwater, and educating, organizing, and employing local residents. Urban agriculture is integrated in individual urban communities and neighborhoods, as well as in the ways that cities function and are managed, including municipal policies, plans, and budgets.

Frequenly Asked Questions

How Urban Farming is a help to the community

Urban farming is a commonly proposed solution in cities with problems such as overcrowding, poverty, and a lack of education or locally grown food. Urban farm and community garden projects typically strive to educate the nearby population by offering free classes in the trades of agriculture, since most have never had the chance to farm. Urban farms tackle the problem of poverty by providing an economically productive farm on a plot of land that was usually not used before. It may not seem probable considering the majority of urban farm projects are under an acre, but it has been shown that a farmer can gross $30,000 annually on a similar plot of land due to the prime location within the city causing lower transportation prices.  

CROPS GROWN AND POSSIBLY GROWN

grow most every kind of commonly grown vegetable found in Michigan, as well as plenty not commonly found.  Because they strive for a year round harvest they find themselves needing to expand their types of crops to suit colder seasons.  They also grow a number of small fruits, tree fruits, culinary and medical herbs, and cut flowers.  they are a small but very diverse growing operation.

WHERE AND HOW

Most crops are grown in small pieces of land, or on top of rooftops. 
Most food is currently produced with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are derived from fossil fuels. Fields are often planted with monoculture crops that deplete the soil of the same nutrients. This food is then processed and transported far distances by diesel burning semi trucks.

Urban Farming Articles

Stephen Ritz: South Bronx Teacher and Urban Farmer
Hantz Farms: Commercial Farming in Detroit
Supervisor Yeager Proposes Tax Breaks for Urban Farms
GrowUp farms in London, UK
SEED STOCK; U.S. to See More Urban Farming in 2015
Keep Growing Detroit cultivates more than fresh produce
U.F.U. : street solutions for growing food
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/29/491271/how-urban-farming-can-transform-our-cities-and-our-agricultural-system/
How urban farming could change Hawiai