On-Farm Spatial Composition, Management Practices and Estimated Productivity of Urban Farms in the San Francisco Bay Area

Abstract

Urban areas are the fastest growing land type worldwide. By 2060, it is expected that approximately 70% of the human population will live in cities. With increased urban population growth, food sovereignty and security issues have gained more attention, resulting in a drastic increase in urban food production activities including, urban farming and gardening. The extent to which urban farms function, their social, ecological and economic composition, and their overall impact on local food security has become an often overlooked, but important topic. From 2014 to 2017, we partnered with 29 urban farms in the San Francisco Bay Area for a broad-scale survey of urban farm characteristics. Findings reported in this research focused on local (on-farm) characteristics, including management practices, on-farm spatial composition, and estimated productivity. We implemented open-ended surveys for farm managers to better understand management practices, measured on-farm elements, including yields, crop biodiversity, weed composition and abundance, and measured spatial characteristics such as area of production, non-crop area, and proportion of infrastructure to better understand how urban farms were spatially configured. We found trends regarding spatial composition, including a large proportion of farm area dedicated to infrastructure and underutilized potential production space. All farms surveyed had adopted a breadth of agroecological management practices, including cover cropping, crop rotations, intercropping, and a range of soil conservation practices. Measured farms are incredibly productive, with estimated seasonal yields of 7.14 kg/square meter. Estimated yields were comparable with actual yields as measured at two participating farms.