A newly published policy brief explores the ways that policy and planning play a role in supporting climate-friendly practices that are already being used in urban agriculture. 

Jason Hawes, who earned his doctorate at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) studying the impacts of urban agriculture on people, places and the planet, is an author alongside members of the nonprofit Michigan Food and Farming Systems and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Hawes is now an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming.

Results from earlier research, which was done alongside SEAS Assistant Professor Benjamin Goldstein and SEAS Professor Joshua Newell, revealed barriers and challenges urban producers face in maintaining sustainable and viable operations, but they found that solutions are readily available with the right support.

“Urban agriculturalists have developed a variety of really interesting ways to reduce financial costs and their carbon footprint, including reusing materials, promoting soil carbon retention and reducing fuel use,” Hawes said. “When programs are supported for a long period of time, they are often competitive with conventional agriculture in terms of carbon emissions, and outcompete conventional agriculture in terms of some other social and ecological benefits.”

Read the full press release on the Michigan News website. 

Policy brief: Sustainable agriculture impacts in urban settings make the case for federal investments (DOI: 10.5304/jafscd.2024.141.002)