1. Urban Agriculture
Matthew Crouthamel
Edinboro University
11/24/2014

2. Why Urban Agriculture?

Synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers are polluting
soil, water, and air harming both environment and human
health

Food Access and Reduced Import Dependency

Water is consumed at unsustainable rates in many
agricultural areas
Singapore Food Access/Food Deserts
http://youtu.be/5AWrV7WCEPY
http://youtu.be/8My-iWjTBQ8

3. Water and Pollution
 U.S. EPA: current farming
practices account for 70% of the
pollution in rivers and streams.
 Agriculture accounts for 2/3 of
all water use world wide.
 Irrigation often depletes
underground aquifers faster than
they can be recharged
 The F.A.D. Estimates that crops
only use 45% of irrigation water.
 Beef requires as much as 100
times the water as it would take
to produce equivalent amounts
of protein energy from grains

4. Basic Types of Urban Agriculture
Individual
Community
Commercial

5. Individual:
Whisper Farms
(LA)
Aquaculture (tilapia)
fertilizes plants through
efficient water pumping system of
tank farmed fish wastes.
Aquaponics (lettuces)
http://youtu.be/Du6Z8p71eys

6. Community
Atlanta/Detroit
Niche Markets for Community Ag.
Urban Food Security: Detroit
http://youtu.be/FN_zYk2KIDU
Urban Food Security: Atlanta
http://youtu.be/YRFaDUpXDWs

7. Commercial
For Profit
Investment Driven
Space Age
Extreme Production
Extreme Water Conservation
Indoor Year Round Operation
Singapore:
http://youtu.be/2nFQOkzEjxQ
Cleveland:
http://youtu.be/zJZnCW-V3Ww

8. Chicago

“As a means of improving the city’s air quality, conserving
energy lowering storm water runoff and reducing urban
heat island effects. Temperatures are lowered by the plants
reflecting heat, providing shade and cooling the
surrounding air through evapotranspiriation” (2009)

9. New York
“(Eagle Street Farms) Plans To sell its crops to local
restaraunts and community groups with an emphasis on local
as they plan to transport everything they grow by bike” (Not
eating out in N.Y. 2009)

10. St. Louis
“.. The presence of community gardens had a positive impact
on a host of economic indicators, such as increasing home
values, owner occupancy, and household income when
compared with the city as a whole” (Gateway Greening 2009)

11. The Point?

Location Theory of Resources

World Population, by 2050, is projected to be 9,000,000,000 people
(yes that is 9 billion people)

Urbanization Rates are already above 70 percent globally

An Extreme Need for Clean Water

Public Food Security

Community Development and Civics

Resource Management and Re-Tasking

An impetus for technological development

14. Bibliography:
Broadway, Michael. Growing urban agriculture in north American cities: the
example of Milwaukee. Focus on Geography Vol. 52 No. 3 (2009) 23-30
Brown, Kate H. Jameton, Andrew L. Public health implications of urban
agriculture. Journal of Public Health Policy. Vol. 21 No. 1 (2000) 22-39
retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3343472
Harrigan, Leo. Lawrence, Robert S. Walker, Polly. How sustainable
agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of
industrial agriculture. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol.110, No.
5 (2002) 445-456 retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3455330
Kato, Yuki. Not just the price of food: Challenges of an urban agriculture
organization in engaging local residents. Social
Inquiry Vol. 83 No. 4 (2013) 369-391 doi:10.1111/soin.12008
Mendes, Wendy. Balmer, Kevin. Kaethler, Terra. Rhoads, Amanda. Using
land inventories to plan for urban agriculture. Journal of the American
Planning Association Vol. 74, No.4 (2008) 435-449
Travaline, Katharine. Hunold, Christian. Urban agriculture and ecological
citizenship in philadelphia. Local Environment Vol. 15 No. 6 (2000) 581-590
doi: 10.1080/13549839.2010.487529
Thompson, Stephen A. Growing a cleveland resistance. Rural Cooperatives
(2013)
Tornaghi, Chiara Critical geography of urban agriculture. Progress in Human
Geography Vol.38 (4) (2014) 551-567 doi:10.1177/0309132513512542