COTE®: Urban Agriculture as Design

Over the last decade, interest in urban agriculture has grown rapidly, driven by rising food insecurity and renewed attention to community gathering or third spaces. Urban agriculture most often appears as community gardens in vacant lots, alleys, or rooftops, but these projects frequently stand apart from surrounding neighborhoods and rely heavily on donations, fees, and grants for continued operation.

By integrating urban agriculture directly into our designs, we have the opportunity to create active communal spaces that are financially and socially embedded in their environments while encouraging more sustainable, community-centered food production and consumption.

This presentation is available both online and in person.

Learning objectives

• The rising role of urban agriculture as a nutrition supplement for low-income communities
• The hazard of “purposeless greening”
• Ways that urban agriculture can be integrated into designed spaces
• How to sell integrated urban agriculture to property operators