New Five Borough Farm Study Imagines an Even Greener Future for Urban Agriculture in NYC

<i>This unique rooftop farm in Hell's Kitchen makes use of kiddie pools to grow fruits and veggies.</i> We were really excited this week to see the <a href="http://www.designtrust.org/">Design Trust for Public Space</a>'s release of a one of a kind study, entitled <a href="http://www.designtrust.org/publications/publication_12fbf.html">Five Borough Farm: Seeding the future of urban agriculture in New York</a> about the future of farms in NYC. The report details the many existing urb-ag initiatives in<a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/nyc"> New York's</a> 5 boroughs, presents interviews with urban agriculture stakeholders, and suggests possibilities for future urban agriculture policy and an even greener NYC. Hit the jump to learn more and view the project's beautiful photography of urban farms around the city by <a href="http://www.robstephenson.com/">Rob Stephenson</a>.

The study, titled <a href="http://www.designtrust.org/publications/publication_12fbf.html">Five Borough Farm: Seeding the future of urban agriculture in New York</a> was conducted by a team of Projects fellows, including experts in policy, public health and sustainable design.

Aside from thoroughly documenting the many projects that have made NYC the national leader in urban ag. (surpassing both San Francisco and Seattle), the team explored the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bushwick-campus-farm-is-an-outdoor-classroom-food-justice-program-for-four-brooklyn-high-schools/">educational and leadership roles</a> that these green spaces hold for local citizens.

The Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project is a 1,000sf farm on the roof of the Metro Baptist Church, whose mission is to provide a food secure neighborhood for the residents of Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.

The 6,000sf Bruckner Mott Haven Garden sits under the elevated Expressway in the South Bronx and features fruit trees and a rainwater harvesting system.

The five acre-site at the Kissena Corridor Community Garden features more than 300 plots. The Korean-American Senior Citizens Society has organized its operation for many years

The Temple of David Community Garden advocates for increased use of open space for permanent community gardens.

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Though New Yorkers are proud of the grassroots-led <a href="http://www.fiveboroughfarm.org/urban-agriculture/">Farm and garden initiatives </a>that have allowed urban agriculture in their city to bloom, many question why the city government isn’t doing more to support such action.

The research team has created an online tool that will be beta tested and aggregate data across many farms and gardens citywide to inform future urban agriculture policy. This tool will be made available for public use next year.

We hope the Five Borough Farm study will encourage City officials to give more attention to assisting and supporting these awesome efforts to expand urban agriculture citywide.