LAND

Overview

Agriculture is dependent on soil, water, air, and land. Access to land, however big or small that piece of land may be, is essential for growing crops and trees and raising animals. In Philadelphia, people and communities practice urban agriculture in a variety of ways: in raised beds, directly in the ground, in containers, in buildings and on rooftops. They use land they find at home, in their neighborhood, at community gardens and farms, at schools, in parks, in cemeteries, on formerly vacant land, and on the grounds of places of worship and community-based organizations. Land is the common thread that underpins all agricultural activities. Therefore, issues tied to land—and particularly to a lack of land security—are among those most pressing for farmers, gardeners, and urban agriculture advocates in Philadelphia.

This chapter of Growing from the Root focuses on preserving existing growing spaces, creating new growing spaces, enhancing soil quality, and advancing racial and economic justice through improved policies, procedures, and processes for land access and land security. It calls for new programs and resources to expand the footprint of agriculture in the city, more environmentally sound practices for land care and soil testing, and restorative actions in response to land theft and discriminatory policies to put land in the hands of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.

Why Land Security Is Necessary For Philadelphia Agriculture

Land access and security is the number one issue for Philadelphia’s urban agriculture community, according to the growers and advocates who participated in public engagement for this plan. More than half of participants in this plan’s second public meeting (58%) said the most important action the City should take to invest in community-led agricultural efforts is to help gardeners and farmers achieve land security. Fifty-three percent said the most important policy commitment the City can make is to a transparent process for selling and leasing land for agriculture.

The Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC) database identifies more than 400 active gardens and farms across more than 900 parcels, or pieces of land in Philadelphia.23 Sometimes a garden consists of just one parcel, while other gardens are made up of multiple parcels. In many cases, the parcels on which gardens are located are owned by multiple entities, public and private. Before they were gardens, these parcels were often vacant and disinvested over decades through deindustrialization, acts of landlord abandonment, and structural racism. Through the efforts of Philadelphia’s gardeners and farmers, this land now cultivates not just plants, but also soil quality, water quality, wildlife habitats, stormwater management, physical space, and community relationships.

COMMUNITY GARDEN

TOTAL PARCELS: 12

Garden Owned Parcels: 3

Publicly Owned Parcels: 6

Privately Owned Parcels: 3 (3 owners)

Tax Delinquent: 2

WHAT IS LAND SECURITY? WHAT IS LAND ACCESS?

Land Security

> A garden has land security when all of its parcels are owned by the gardeners or a trusted organization or entity that will protect the garden over time.

> Fewer than half (44%) of gardens in the Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative database are secure, meaning that the whole garden is owned by the gardeners, farmers, or a supportive organization (e.g., Parks & Recreation, schools, or land trusts).

> A garden lacks land security when one or more of its parcels are owned by an individual or entity that does not intend to preserve the garden over time.

Land Access

> Gardeners and farmers have land access when they have a legal ability to use land for agriculture, provided through a lease, license, other arrangement, or permanent ownership.

Racial and socio-economic barriers often prevent communities from being able to stay on the land they tend. Lacking land security, these growing spaces are at risk for eviction, demolition, and redevelopment. Stories from local gardens and farms, news articles, and research by members of the PGDC identify over 140 former gardens in Philadelphia that are no longer active, though the actual number may be much higher.

The land struggles experienced by Philadelphia gardeners and farmers are part of a much larger history of land-based oppression that stretches across the United States and throughout history. Data shows that historic and current US legislation has resulted in Native American tribes experiencing loss of over 90 million acres of land,24 and Black farmers have experienced land theft of 80 to 90 percent of the 16 million acres they owned in 1920.25 For more information about this history, see the historic timeline on page 30.

These land struggles are personal for growers, communities, and agricultural businesses, as the statistics from the survey at the second public meeting illustrate.

Among Survey Respondents

> 54% of respondents know a garden that is currently being threatened, and 46% know of a garden that was lost/stolen. The majority of reported lost gardens were lost to development.

> 27% of respondents have personally experienced race and ethnicity impacting their ability to obtain access to land and land security.

> 25% of respondents reported that a lack of land security is a major barrier to establishing or expanding their agricultural businesses.

—Inputfromsurveyatsecondpublicmeeting