Growing Urban Agriculture: Equitable Strategies and Policies for Improving Access to Healthy Food and Revitalizing Communities

A vibrant movement is changing the landscape,
economic outlook, and vitality of cities across the
country. The recent recession affected many low-
income communities—taking with it manufacturing
centers, jobs, and people while leaving behind
abandoned homes and vacant lots. Now a new
crop of urban farmers, along with activists, and
community organizations are turning that land
into productive use and turning around their
communities.

Urban farming brings a multitude of benefits to
struggling communities: improved access to healthy
food, workforce training and job development, and
neighborhood revitalization. Innovative programs
and policies are cropping up nationwide; and city
governments are creating urban agriculture-friendly
policies to support urban farming.

While the movement is exciting, PolicyLink is
committed to ensuring that it is an inclusive one.
Many of the emerging policies could better target
low-income communities and communities of
color—the very communities that would so greatly
benefit from the economic opportunities and
revitalization offered by urban farming.