Could Large-Scale Urban Farming Actually Work?

An urban farm in Brooklyn.

Is there enough vacant space in your typical big city to even come close to supplying the community’s needs?

By bigkingken
Big Ten Science blog
January 4, 2011

Excerpt:

One of the coolest ideas that has come about through the whole “green” and “sustainable” movement, in my opinion, is that of urban farming. I mean think about it. You’ve got all of this space in a city just sitting around doing nothing. Completely empty lots that not only are eyesores to the community, but a drain to the city’s tax dollars. Add to this the fact that numerous studies have shown that poor, urban populations are much more likely to be obese with all of the resulting medical problems associated with it, and it is easy to see where the idea came from.

True, there is a big difference between correlation and causation. Are people in these neighborhoods more prone to obesity because fast food is abundant and cheap, or is fast food abundant and cheap because urban dwellers are more likely to buy their greasy, fatty goodness?

Whatever the answer, there is no doubt that inner cities could use more access to fresh, inexpensive produce. So what better way to provide it than growing it in their own back yards?

Read the complete article here.