Cornell Researchers Imagine Future of Urban Farming

“Knowing that urban growers struggle for access to land, especially Black, Indigenous, immigrant and other farmers of color, institutions can do more to lift up their voices and put the weight and the funding of the institutions behind BIPOC farmers’ fight for land access and other resources in both urban and rural spaces.”

By Rory Sheppard
Cornell Daily Sun
Mar 26, 2021

Excerpt:

The authors argue in the report that urban farms have the potential to become commercially viable, adding that up to now, much of the existing research has focused on the impact of urban agriculture on social indicators, such as community development and educational attainment.

According to Riordan, the make of a viable urban farm depends on factors such as the laws and regulations of a municipality, the availability and affordability of land and opportunities available for season extension.

To produce a more comprehensive picture of the future of urban agriculture, Rangarajan and Riordan started by collecting data, speaking to an active network of growers.

“Every time we spoke with someone, we asked, ‘Who else should we speak with about commercial farming in cities?’” Riordan said in an email. “Inevitably that led us to more conversations that broadened and deepened our understanding. We spoke with over 160 individuals in the course of the study.”

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