Food In the City: An old way, in a new time

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Winter 2014

Holyoke

West Springfield Food in the City

Springfield Connecticut River

FOOD IN THE CITY Across the country, interest is growing in the promise of urban agriculture to support more efficient, sustainable, and equitable ways of life. In Springfield, Massachusetts, through the leadership of the Springfield Food Policy Council and other community-based organizations, projects are underway to promote community-oriented and commercially oriented youth farms, home gardens, orchards, and community gardens. Significant challenges remain, however, to accessible, sustainable, and successful food production in the city.

An old way, in a new time A process to assess land suitable for urban agriculture.

This report examines some of the benefits of and obstacles to urban agriculture in Springfield, and identifies strategies for overcoming the most significant barriers. It uses a GIS-based methodology, developed specifically for the City’s physical and social conditions, to evaluate the suitability of land for community gardens, commercial farms, community farms, and urban orchards, with a particular emphasis on city-owned, structure-free vacant lots. The process is meant to be scalable and applicable to other land suitability assessments. This report offers a model for how landscape designers and planners can work hand-in-hand with communities to develop achievable and sustainable urban agriculture plans. Springfield, Massachusetts

The Conway School 332 South Deerfield Road Conway, MA 01341 www.csld.edu

The Conway School is the only institution of its kind in North America. Its focus is sustainable landscape planning and design. Each year, through its accredited, ten month graduate program just eighteen to nineteen students from diverse backgrounds are immersed in a range of applied landscape studies, ranging in scale from residents to regions. Graduates go on to play significant professional roles in various aspects of landscape planning and design.

Prepared for the Springfield Food Policy Council Urban Agriculture Committee Emily Berg, Abigail Elwood & Marie Macchiarolo The Conway School April 2014


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