We all know that food is a basic need, and planners have an important role to play. The time is ripe for the food system to become less of a stranger to the planning field.
Interest in urban agriculture is rising steadily in the United States and Canada. While older, industrial cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo, with their drastic loss of population and their acres of vacant land, are emerging as centers for urban agriculture initiatives, backyard and community gardens in places big and small have become important symbols of the local food movement.
Because urban agriculture entails the use of urban land, planners are increasingly on the front lines of the discussion about how best to craft policies and programs to support growing food while being mindful of the interests of residents living near these projects. This PAS Report provides authoritative guidance for planners dealing with the implications of this cutting-edge practice.
March 14, 2012
4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. ET
Learn how food has become a planning issue and what communities are doing to ensure safe, healthy, and appropriate food systems. Examine how the conflicts between urban dwellers and urban agriculture are resolved.
CM | 1.5
Bibliography from PAS Report 554: Planners Guide to Community and Regional Food Planning (pdf)
The Divisions Council challenged each Division to produce an article in their newsletter on an aspect of Food Systems Planning from their unique perspective. The following represent an array of perspectives on the subject from the Divisions.
Community Gardens — United we eat, divided we starve
An Environmental Planner's Journey to Food Planning
Farmers in the City: Growing Community and a Local Food Economy
"Food and Fuel for the Force" Initiative
Food Distribution Policy & Design Solutions
Food System Planning and Connections to APA Divisions
Food System Planning — Why Is It a Planning Issue?
Food System Planning: An Opportunity for Planners in Private Practice
Food Without Walls: The Planning and Economic Development Benefits of Outdoor Food
Making Farmers’ Markets a Central Part in Food Systems Planning: A Case Study of Urbana, Illinois
National Standards for Organic Certification in Bolivia
Planning to Sustain Small Farms: An Upgrading Strategy for Farmers and Institutions
Portland Food Carts: Catering to the Pedestrian
Sustainable Economic Development: Is BALLE the Answer?
The Missing Piece: Growing Community and Public Health with Urban Agriculture
Towards an Edible Urban Design
Urban Farming: Zoning for Growing and Distributing Food in Portland Neighborhoods
The Planning and Community Health Research Center is one of APA's three National Centers for Planning. The center is dedicated to strengthening the connection between urban planning and community health in the U.S. It engages in collaborative, multidisciplinary research; education and outreach activities; and policy development work aimed at addressing today's pressing health issues (such social inequities, physical inactivity, poor food access) through city and regional planning. For more information visit the Planning and Community Health Research Center's work related to food system planning.
This PDF brochure provides an overview of APA's resources, publications, and activities related to food system planning.
APA's Food Interest Group (FIG) is a coalition of APA members interested in or actively engaged in food system planning at the local, regional, state, or national level.
Zsuzsi Fodor and Benjamin W. Chrisinger are the 2011 winners of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy Division scholarships. Both students were recognized during the 2011 APA National Planning Conference in Boston.
Zsuzsi Fodor, University of British Columbia
People Systems in Support of Food Systems: The Neighbourhood Food Network Movement in Vancouver, Canada
Benjamin W. Chrisinger, University of Virginia School of Architecture
Planning Functions of Community Food Projects
Jenny Cadigan
Urban Agriculture: A Key Element of Food System Planning in the United States
Andrea Garfinkel-Castro
Planning Rooted in Community: Securing Land Tenure for Community Gardens
Dolly Soto
An analysis of food systems planning: How can planners increase access to healthy food?
Megan Horst
A Review of Suitable Urban Agriculture Land Inventories
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