Urban farming has environmental benefits as well. With all
the steel, concrete, and asphalt in a modern city, there is often
very little to buffer the absorption of heat and few places where
carbon can be captured. Urban farms allow for carbon seques-
tration and can offer some buffering against the heat island
effect of cities. Also, the more living foliage there is in the form
of city crops, the more oxygen that is released back into the air.
Urban farmers must be both practical and creative with
their use of space. Many urban farms are multi-faceted due
to their restricted sizes. On the same property, there may be
5,000 square feet of raised production beds, a limited foot-
print greenhouse, a bee hive in the corner, and a few chick-
ens running around. However, some farmers keep it simple.
Some urban farms could just be
focused on the production of greens
or storage crops that can be grown
in cooler weather and extend the
season. Some may be entirely
devoted just to small animal produc-
tion, while others may produce
honey and beeswax products. Cut
flowers also provide an opportunity
for a different type of farming.
Of cours e, municipal zoning laws
also play a part in deciding what kind
of urban farm you can start. There is
often little restriction on growing food
crops in your own backyard, but you
might need to have a chat with city
hall once you start considering adding
animals or converting your front lawn
into raised production beds. Before
attempting anything, a trip to a council
meeting or a visit to the city office
where zoning codes are kept on file
is a must. You do not want to put your
time and treasure into an urban farm
only to have it shut down because
zoning laws don’t allow for it.
Once you have established what you can and can’t do in
regards to your urban farm, you will need some land. If you
happen to have a city lot that affords itself to production,
drains well, and has good sun exposure, you are in the
minority. Usually, urban farmers must seek land away
from their own dwelling. Unfortunately, most grants and
resources that encourage farming are geared towards
rural areas and the urban farmer is at a disadvantage
when competing for those resources. Many cities, however,
have land banks or similar structures that manage the
city’s available land holdings. As mentioned above, many
cities are or have been in the process of trying to eliminate
vacant lots from their rolls, meaning this land can often be
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