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<br /> Though mtWons of people produce food ta;ctnes,mudi remau>s.unlmownnbout how much potential remains.
<br /> unfiuSlled for maeasmg the food suPPlyi'1!nProvm6'urban ecotiotnre security, and restoring a form of "wm-
<br /> ~ ' moo good" to community Gfe. ,The following areas, espeaally, could be fruitful grounds for further reseazch:
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<br /> COIorIL PetentlOl: This ardde is not about homegrown tomatoes or lettuce, which have little food energy.
<br /> I But to what eztent can people in tides grow the kinds of food one can really live on, such as corn, beans,
<br /> UUU i potatoes, or yams? Studies aze needed to detemune which combination of crops would produce the highest
<br /> food value on a lot of given size (say 100 square meters), intensively cultivated, in various climates.
<br /> Protein PotentiOl:~. Pmtem ts~~cky, because moscofrtwines fmm antmalsor Ssh-not easy to contem-
<br /> . plan raising in dries. ;Most Ssh is from the oceans,-=iaost.meat from vast rant grazing lands. Yet, many
<br /> :urban dwellers.alFeady produce`theit own-chtdcens,.,eggs, or.'fitli is urban settings, ofrea in the informal
<br /> economy for whidt little data ewst Bveti-.more unpgimnt, However, is det~*~++lr,cr,g the ertent to which plant
<br /> ' proteins can be produced m utliart setting}; from suclaops as soybeans -
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<br /> ' I ~ Land Use POliey: What incentives exist, or mould be created, for cleaning up and using empty tors for
<br /> growing food? Similazly, what could impel local governments to encourage niltivadon of the tazgc amount of
<br /> i "no-man's land" that is now wasted in public tracts along highways or around airports and industrial districts?
<br /> In the Unimd States; existing polities pull developers centrifugally away from the city, to bulldoze farmland
<br /> outside the city for new suburbs-and drive farms ever fazther from the places where their products are used.
<br /> The question is how to reverse the incentives that now drive people out, so that central cirylots become val-
<br /> j ued locations for new residences, workplaces, schools, recreation, and gardens-in short, all the elemenu of a
<br /> ~ fully functioning community.
<br /> j :Potential Protection Agamsf Rlsmg food Pnces 1n an era of inaeastng food scarcities aaa pulariiittg
<br /> ' incomes;. the rrpabilides of the global market to distribute: fiod'ro the highest biddeis worldwide appeazs
<br /> ! - "L1cdy ro.drive prices beyond the reach of the urban~poor, even-in the regions where the crops are grown. A
<br /> • few studies have: shown the extent to whichlocal food expenditures can be reduced'liy doing urban Eamaing
<br /> for consumpnon, bur more ihformation is heeded on what share of the supply mould be provided by this
<br /> means in vazious`regions; and to what extent tbatshare would inaease as prices nse.
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<br /> Confliding Demands fOr Water: The water requirements of cities aze already in conflict with those of agri-
<br /> ' culture in many regions. Growing food in cities imposes new demands for water and, presumably, could
<br /> exacerbate already existing problems of supplying adequate water for household and industrial uses. In what
<br /> ' areas can urban farming succeed with natural rainfall, and in what azeas would i[ need supplementary water?
<br /> A critical consideration is the extent to "grey" water, or waste water from showers and sinks, exc., could be
<br /> reused in gardens.
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<br /> ROO~tOP rerlltl0(Ogy' The gat root's of the world's dries wnstirute what a Pioneer urban farmer of the
<br /> 1970s called a "vurwasteland" of unused space:: &ztensive research has been done on the possible uses of
<br /> ~ this space ~ro npmresolar energy and rainwater-~n3,' in fact,'the technologies of rooffop photovoltaics and ~ -
<br /> rainvvatercisterns are in fairly wide use. Since solar~energy and water are two of the essential inputs to agri-
<br /> culture, anobvious question is whether~synergistic designs can be developed. A laudable challenge ro azdu-
<br /> ' teas would be ro design roofrops that'combine optimal insulation, passive solar heating, photovoltaic electric
<br /> I power, rainwater wBection, and agriniltural.production.
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<br /> POIIUt10n: Polluted air or soil could be a setiotu impediment to growing food in some cities. How can city
<br /> administrators most effectively make soil-testing and soil-leaning services available (or mandatory?) to people
<br /> who want.to rehabilitate empty lots? In areas where leaded gasoline is still used, or where lead, PCBs, and
<br /> other contaminants may be present in soil where buildings have been demolished, what affordable means are
<br /> available for reconditioning the soil for growing food? It would be especially useful to determine the extent
<br /> to which the technologies used for xoxic waste cleanups, such as bioremediadon, could be adapxed to routine
<br /> revitalization of urban neighborhoods.
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<br /> ~2 Wodd Wazch•Nmembcr/Dc<cmber 1996
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