For the central server implementations in Atlanta and New Orleans, it is the satellite entities who were intended to be the landholding entities. However, in an urban agriculture context, it will likely make more sense for the central server entity…
The central server entity will do the “heavy lifting” that is beyond the ability of small, neighborhood-based organizations, particularly while they are in the midst of their start-up phase. With expertise in land use and real estate transactions, the central…
NeighborSpace NeighborSpace is a land trust that holds land for community gardens and, increasingly, urban farms in Chicago. It was founded in 1996 in response to a recommendation in a city planning report that found Chicago ranked 18th among 20…
Outside of cities, farmers can work their land without too many concerns about their neighbors. But in urban settings, neighbors are much closer at hand — urban farmers will likely feel significant pressures to be good members of the community.…
In intervening in that landscape, urban growers and their allies must understand that when land is cheap, it is cheap for a reason. A vacant lot that might be an affordable site for an urban farm almost invariably has a…
Urban growers seeking access to affordable land often turn for help to government officials at the city and county level. City officials and land bank managers can help identify vacant land that could be available for farming. County assessors may…
Land Tenure Must Allow Grower to Recoup Their Investments. Although “pop-up” business models are increasingly popular in the restaurant and retail sectors, it is a difficult model for urban growing. Access to land for a single season requires a grower to…
Speaking from the perspective of the grower and landowner, it is always best to reduce or eliminate property taxes in order to protect the affordability of urban farmland. Of course, the taxing authority may have a different perspective, but there…
In many cases, outright ownership may simply not make the most sense for urban farmers. This can be surprising in a society where ownership has been cultivated as the “gold standard” when it comes to having security and control in…
How Will Land Be Secured for Farmers? Although this is the central question to be answered by a land tenure model, we do not expect that there will be a single answer. Indeed, as we suggested in the previous section,…
