A COMMUNITY-INFORMED DEFINITION OF URBAN AGRICULTURE

Urban agriculture, commonly known as urban farming, community gardening, or foraging, refers to growing plants, rearing animals, or harvesting what grows naturally, to produce food within a city. Urban agriculture is integral to every part of the local food system, and it can include food production, marketing, distribution, sale, and sharing within the city.

The definition of urban agriculture for this plan also extends beyond food. Urban agriculture means building community with neighbors, cultivating wellness and wellbeing, and learning, teaching, and passing down knowledge. It means connecting with the Earth, with ancestral practices, and with family histories. It encompasses a range of economic opportunities: community-based work and job creation, nonprofit initiatives, private and cooperative business enterprises, and the public sector’s role in supporting living wage jobs in agriculture and agriculture-related fields. Urban agriculture means tending to the health of people and the planet, and working to restore the soil, improve air and water quality, mitigate heat and flood risk, and reduce waste. And it means doing all of these things right here, in all neighborhoods across Philadelphia.

This broad and community-informed definition of urban agriculture was shaped by over 180 statements submitted by participants in Growing from the Root’s first public meeting, representing Philadelphia’s diverse urban agriculture population. Participants’ submissions emphasize the importance of food access, land access, and the benefits that stem from coming together to learn and share as culturally diverse communities. They speak to human relationships to the natural world around us, to history, culture, livelihood, and selfdetermination—the freedom and ability to take action with purpose.

“green space that is permanent, protected, and public for growing and gathering/building community. a space to produce food for neighbors, and a place to learn together. A place where nature is valued and respected.”

“[a tradition that] promotes community building and healing, and pushes us to think about ouR position as environmental stewards, and lastly our social responsibility to one another.”

“[A practice that] breeds resistance through community control of our backyards and the open green spaces that still exist under capitalism.”

“sharing. during the pandemic, I was able to provide eggs to elderly neighbors who could not get to a store or the store was out.”

“the cultural, economic, historical, educational, intergenerational practice of growing food, preserving food, cooking food, and sharing food in a city.”

“[a practice that] will carry us into a more just, sustainable future, should we choose to invest in it.”

Participantsinthefirstpublicmeetingwrotedownhowtheydefineurbanagricultureandwhattheyvalue

“[a process that] gives agency to individuals over their lives, health, and well-being. it helps people understand what it takes to grow food and puts a higher value on the food they purchase. it roots us in our past and the lived experience that many of us have had and want to keep up with in urban environments.”

> known active urban agricultural spaces spread across more than 900 parcels

Philadelphia Growing Spaces

Individual Gardens are run by one person, family, or business. They are typically private and production is generally for personal use. Individual gardens are often located on an individual’s home property or side yard.

Community Gardens contain individual plots for use by community members. They are generally publicly accessible or open to the community members who maintain plots.

Source: PA Department of Agriculture, Commonwealth Media Services

Community Farms take a unified approach to the management of planting raised rows, instead of individual plots. They are often run by community organizations, groups, or nonprofits, and crops are often shared or sold locally.

Mill Creek Farm

Source: www.millcreekurbanfarm.org

Market Farms are business enterprises that produce crops, seeds, or flowers for sale. They can be run by an individual (with workers) or by a cooperative of farmers.

Germantown Kitchen Garden

Source: www.facebook.com

Social Gardens are green or open spaces that function primarily as a social space for community use. They are not necessarily food-producing.

Hicks Street Garden

Source: www.facebook.com

Institutional Gardens are run by places of worship, hospitals, libraries, prisons, universities, or other institutions (excluding K-12 schools).

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Sea Garden

Source: www.chop.edu

School Gardens are run by a K–12 school, generally on school property. They are generally used by students and teachers, with some access for parents, other known and trusted individuals, or community members who help maintain the garden.

Gideon Elementary Garden

Source: www.phila.gov

Food Forests/Orchards

are cultivated edible landscapes producing fruits, nuts, and other perennial crops. Other city spaces like public right-of-way, parks, and other natural areas may also include edible and medicinal plants sought by people knowledgeable about foraging.

Source: www.phillyorchards.org

Indoor Agriculture and Rooftop Gardens may employ vertical growing techniques, hydroponics, aquaponics, and other methods within or on top of buildings. They may be run by individuals, institutions, nonprofits, business enterprises, or other entities.

Agricultural Uses include other farming activities such as greenhouses, nursery crop cultivation, raising animals (e.g., bees, goats, hogs, hens, and cows), large animal veterinary facilities, and agricultural support services (e.g., farm machinery equipment, organic materials or compost facilities).

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