Urban Agriculture in Baltimore, MD

Neith Little, Urban Agriculture Extension Agent, University of Maryland, Baltimore City Office1/24/18 Women in Agriculture Wednesday Webinars

Photo of Tha Flower Factory, taken by Neith Little, UMD Extension

What is Extension?

• Land grant universities established in 1859 and 1890 (Morrill Acts 1 and 2)

• Cooperative Extension System established 1914 (Smith-Lever Act)

What is Extension?• Mission to make sure everyone

in state benefits from the land grant institution

• Applied research and continuing education in cooperation with local communities

Photos by Edwin Remsberg, © University of Maryland--AGNR Image Library

What is Extension?Program areas:• Agriculture and natural resources

• Ag Agents• Master Gardeners• Watershed programs

• Home economics -> Family and consumer sciences

• Nutrition• Personal Finance

• Youth development (4-H)• Some states have others:

• Leadership and Community Development

Photos by Edwin Remsberg, © University of Maryland--AGNR Image Library

How do we define urban agriculture?Definitions I have read are broad.* Wagstaff and Wortmann (2015) put it most concisely:

Urban agriculture is “all forms of agricultural production (food and non-food products) occurring within or around cities.”

*Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, Diekmann et al. 2016, Dimitri et al. 2015, Hendrickson and Porth 2012, Oberholzer et al. 2014

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Photo taken at The Greener Garden by Neith Little, UMD Extension

How do we define urban?US Census Bureau:

• “Metropolitan and micropolitanstatistical areas”

• “Urbanized areas” and “urban clusters”

Both are based on population density and land use (Ratcliffe et a. 2016).

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How do we define urban?US Census Bureau:

• “Metropolitan and micropolitanstatistical areas”

• “Urbanized areas” and “urban clusters”

Both are based on population density and land use (Ratcliffe et a. 2016).

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How do we define urban?US Census Bureau:

• “Metropolitan and micropolitanstatistical areas”

• “Urbanized areas” and “urban clusters”

Both are based on population density and land use (Ratcliffe et a. 2016).

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Map source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Urban Area Delineation Program.

County name%Pop. Urban*

%Area Urban*

%Pop. Rural

%Area Rural

Baltimore City 100 99.98 0 0.02Prince George's 98.03 61.24 1.97 38.76Anne Arundel 94.7 57.3 5.3 42.7Montgomery 97.62 55.07 2.38 44.93Howard 90.75 50.66 9.25 49.34Baltimore County 93.47 43.93 6.53 56.07Harford 82.24 26.56 17.76 73.44Calvert 61.29 24.66 38.71 75.34Carroll 60.49 16.38 39.51 83.62Frederick 74.79 15.36 25.21 84.64Cecil 57.9 15.36 42.1 84.64St. Mary's 49.58 14.23 50.42 85.77Charles 70.5 13.75 29.5 86.25Wicomico 74.19 13.18 25.81 86.82Washington 70.51 12.88 29.49 87.12Allegany 72.75 8.01 27.25 91.99Worcester 64.47 4.71 35.53 95.29Queen Anne's 45.51 4.65 54.49 95.35Talbot 45.34 3.57 54.66 96.43Caroline 24 2.03 76 97.97Somerset 54.21 1.98 45.79 98.02Dorchester 43.78 1.61 56.22 98.39Kent 27.41 0.92 72.59 99.08Garrett 16.1 0.67 83.9 99.33

US Census Bureau, 2010 Census urban and rural classification: https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/ua/urban-rural-2010.html

*Based on urbanized areas and urban clusters.

How do we define urban?

“Urbanized areas” and “urban clusters” data pass the ground-truth test.

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At the local level, we may find more fine-grained definitions.

For example Baltimore County has helpfully already defined “urban” for us.

Map by Baltimore County Planning Dept: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/planning/publicationsmaps/mapgallery.html

How do we define urban?

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Intensive “market gardening” or “truck farming”

The Greener Garden, Warren and Lavette Blue (Photos taken by Neith Little)

What does urban farming look like?

Pictured: Lavette Blue, The Greener Garden

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Intensive “market gardening” or “truck farming”

What does urban farming look like?

Strength to Love 2 (Photos taken by Neith Little)

Pictured: Crystal Foreman from the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, at Strength to Love 2

Pictured: Janice Spells-Bell, Director of Strength to Love 2. Photograph by Neith Little

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Intensive “market gardening” or “truck farming”

What does urban farming look like?

Boone Street Farm (Photos taken by Neith Little)

Pictured: Rich Kolm, co-manager of Boone Street Farm

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Intensive “market gardening” or “truck farming”

What does urban farming look like?

Real Food Farm (Photos taken by Neith Little)

Pictured: Crystal Foreman, Farm Alliance of Baltimore and Aliza Sollins, Real Food Farm

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Innovative hydroponics, aquaponics, and roof-top production

What does urban farming look like?

Johns Hopkins University Center for a Liveable FutureFood Systems Lab at Cylburn Arboretum

(Photos taken by Neith Little)

Pictured: Jesse Blom, JHU-CLF Food Systems Lab

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Innovative hydroponics, aquaponics, and roof-top production

What does urban farming look like?

Urban Pastoral (Photos taken by Neith Little)

Pictured: JJ Reidy, Urban Pastoral

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A spectrum of business structures

What does urban farming look like?

University of the District of Columbia’s experimental green roof (Photos taken by Neith Little)

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A spectrum of business structures

What does urban farming look like?

• For-profit businesses• Second careers• Start-up entrepreneurs• “Robin-Hood” business models

• Non-profit community farms• Food justice• Education

• Community gardens that have a CSA component

Real Food Farm, Bryan Alexander and Raven Davis pictured Photo taken by Neith Little

What is my role as an Urban Agriculture Extension Educator?

• Focus on commercial urban agriculture

• Provide research-based training and technical assistance to people who’s goal is to create income and jobs based on agriculture, food, and natural resources

UMD Programs are Equal AccessImage credits: © University of Maryland--AGNR Image Library

Thank youPlease fill out teaching evaluation: http://tinyurl.com/jn9xtgn

Neith Little, nglittle@umd.edu 410-856-1850 x123

References: • Diekmann L, J Dawson, J Kowalski, B Raison, M Ostrom, R Bennaton, and C Fisk (2016) Preliminary results: Survey of

Extension’s role in urban agriculture. eXtension, Community, Local and Regional Food Systems (CLRFS) Community of Practice.

• Dimitri C, L Oberholzer, and A Pressman (2015) The promises of farming in the city: Introduction to the urban agriculture themed issue. Renew Agr Food Syst 30(1):1-2

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Urban Agriculture • Heimlich (1987) Agriculture and urban areas in perspective. USDA Rural Development Publications Collection,

Yearbook of Agriculture. 141-147 • Oberholtzer L, C Dimitri, and A Pressman (2014) Urban agriculture in the United States: characteristics, challenges,

and technical assistance needs. J Extension 52:6 • Ratcliffe M, C Burd, K Holder, and A Fields (2016) Defining rural at the U.S. Census Bureau. United States Census

Bureau. American community survey and geography brief.

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