Portland’s Urban Ag Policies Bury Seattle’s

Last week, Lisa Stiffler gave readers a rundown of the state of urban agriculture in Seattle. This week she has an article at Sightline discussing Portland…and how the city has always been at least two steps ahead of its neighbors to the north.

Seattle is simply gaga for gardening. As I describe in an article for seattlepi.com, elected officials, nonprofit groups, churches, businesses, and schools are pushing all sorts of programs to promote in-city farming, even naming 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture. It’s exciting stuff. But the Emerald City is not alone in its love of fresh, seasonal homegrown pickings. That made me wonder what Seattle’s farms-and-foodies neighbor to the south is doing in the field of urban ag.

It turns out that Portland is out in front on many of the pro-ag initiatives that leaders in the Puget Sound area are considering, providing an opportunity for a little cross-pollination of ideas and initiatives that could benefit both regions.

But first, a quick rundown of what Seattle is up to. City leaders this month will get a look at a package of policy changes to encourage more folks to grow produce in their own backyards, whether for themselves or for profit. A church in the Broadview neighborhood has ripped out landscaping to make way for a community p-patch. Seattle Central Community College is offering what it believes is the first US program in sustainable, urban agriculture. There’s a handy new site coordinating it all called Urban Farm Hub. And the examples go on (see the P-I article for more information).

More…

Related posts:

1. Seattle Considering Urban Agriculture Code Amendments
2. Report Recommends Policies to Improve Access to Healthy Food in Cities
3. How Seattle can Support Urban Farming

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