Long Beach Urban Agriculture Report
Location
Long Beach
timeline
2022—Present
Role
Leader
Services
More Info
After designing several community gardens for local schools, organizations, and housing sites, it quickly became evident that it takes much more than planter beds and seeds to successfully operate and program these spaces.
This assessment aims to take inventory of the current infrastructure, amenities, participation, and reach of existing Long Beach community gardens, urban farms, and urban agriculture organizations. It provides context to the opportunities and challenges of these organizations supporting greater food security in California, with a focus on the City of Long Beach, and seeks to understand and explore ideas to increase sustainability of Long Beach’s urban agriculture ecosystem. The report presents a range of recommendations, including municipal services, policy initiatives, and peer-based networks to build greater resiliency for these organizations. Grant funding was supported through the Miller Foundation to conduct a needs assessment and asset mapping of Long Beach’s urban agricultural landscape. To view the full report, click on the 'More Information' button in the project overview.
Urban + Systems
Planning + Policy
Building + Interior
Landscape Architecture
Graphic
Engagement
To inform the Long Beach Urban Agriculture Report, City Fabrick researched plans, policies, and reports relevant to the topic of urban agriculture, including State, County, and City of Long Beach development plans and policies around community gardens, urban farming, and local produce distribution. Stakeholder outreach began with contacting organizations and public institutions whom have existing relationships and whose work is relevant to urban agriculture. A primary component of this initiative is to consolidate and update the work of community garden partners into a single comprehensive database containing detailed information related to the existing community gardens and urban farms across Long Beach. City Fabrick hosted two interactive workshops for organization leadership and an online and in-person survey for participants and potential participants of urban agriculture organizations. Through all forms of an engagement, inquiries focused on identifying and assessing the shared and unique assets and needs amongst urban agriculture sites and organizations.
Tactical
Organization
Community gardens and urban farms have been an integral component of United States’ history for more than 100 years, providing a number of social and economic benefits to communities that otherwise suffer from limited access to fresh, healthy foods.