In metropolitan areas throughout North America, long characterized
by sprawling residential suburbs and more densely
developed city centres, there is a growing interest in urban
agriculture. Some cities, such as Portland, Oregon and Vancouver,
British Columbia, support local farming that provides
a growing supply of fresh produce to residents. Some older
industrial cities with large amounts of vacant land, such as
Detroit, have a few vibrant local growing projects and many
ambitious plans for large-scale production on the vacant land
resulting from decades of housing abandonment.9 Many cities
have had active associations of community gardeners, some
of whom produce food for local consumption. The Growing
Power project, which began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has
become a prominent model for expanding production beyond
the scale of the typical community garden