Authors: Sydney Leimbach, Sharon Musa
When most people think of agriculture, the first images that come to mind may be rolling hills, rows of crops or grazing livestock. The trademarks of urban areas—like rush-hour traffic, towering skyscrapers and miles of concrete—don’t necessarily sync up with that. Yet more recently, urban gardens and farms (a.k.a. urban agriculture) are on the rise. In addition to letting people grow the fresh fruits and vegetables they need to live, urban gardens have come to light as a way to improve people’s access to nature.
Built into cityscapes in places like local parks and schools, urban gardens offer immeasurable benefits to people who might otherwise go without nearby green spaces. This includes better health, stronger community connections and an environment more resilient to climate impacts.
So why aren’t there urban gardens all over the place? Unfortunately, it’s not so simple. Decision-makers often prioritize profit over people—for example, buying up property for luxury apartment buildings or high-end shopping malls instead of affordable housing or community green space. But one thing the pandemic has highlighted is that even economic progress is dependent on nature. In the last year, the U.S. has finally made efforts to account for some of the real value of these “natural assets.”
We see the value of these natural assets, too. In fact, our Urban to Wild program was created to ensure more people benefit from better access to parks, public lands and green spaces—especially communities that have been historically excluded from public lands like Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Urban agriculture fits into that vision, and our program in Los Angeles is working alongside community partners right now to realize its full promise.
