Jun. 30, 2010 - Issue #767: The Bestest of Edmonton 2010

Time is ripe for urban farms

Growing citizen and political support for city-dwelling farmers

Shifting climate patterns, heightened food costs, concerns about agricultural practices and a desire to return to simpler lifestyles are often quoted as reasons for the growing popularity of the urban agriculture devotee. As the notion of, "knowing where your food is from" sees a return to popularity, many feel the need to go beyond the hundred-mile diet, and truly take matters into their own hands.
Urban agriculture or urban farming are terms used to describe just about any form of urban food production, of which everything from private gardens to cooperative gardens to chicken raising, or even those window sill herb pots, falls under. For many, it re-defines their space and gives them an opportunity to feel in control of their consumption patterns, as well as giving them a window to better understand their relationship to food.

In 2006, it was calculated that 80 percent of Canadians live in urban centres. And with 28 percent of Alberta's 2.7 million people living in Edmonton, increased density creates a greater demand on suppliers for basic needs and food is no exception. For many though, the large chain supermarkets are not meeting their need for fresh, locally produced food. They often do not support local farmers, and instead are supplied from large, often heavily subsidized agricultural operations.

In Canada, there are about 50 municipal centres that currently allow raising small animals (most often chickens) for self-consumption. Alberta's two most populous municipalities, Edmonton and Calgary, currently do not allow chickens to be raised on property within city boundaries. While other cities in North America do allow this, it is often under strict regulation of spacing and maintenance of coops.

John Wilson from the City of Edmonton's Planning and Development office spoke about the current controversy raised by citizens of Edmonton and articulated through the River City Chicken Collective, a group committed to seeing backyard chickens allowed in the city. While the Collective has requested permission for a small pilot project to allow a "small number of Edmonton families to keep chickens in their yards for one year," the city has yet to make a decision on the proposal.
The River City Chicken Collective website explains that, "the proposal outlines a very carefully thought-out set of guidelines that reflect the best practices of municipalities throughout North America that allow chickens."

As it stands right now, the City of Edmonton, under Bylaw 13145, does not allow chickens to be kept at dwellings with an Edmonton municipal address, and according to Wilson, has no plans to change that bylaw in the near future. Similar regulations can also be found in many other municipalities in Alberta.

Urban agriculture specialists and sociologists describe this desire to re-connect as a movement away from the suburban lifestyle where large, close-cut lawns and white picket fences, signs of the divorce between land and production, were thought to be a symbols of wealth. The reinterpretation of these same symbols as an anti-social separation of space illustrates that the isolated nuclear family is no longer the dream for many urban dwellers.

The anecdotal evidence from people who do raise chickens and practice other urban farming techniques is abundant. Many believe producing food themselves gives them a better connection to their space, and allows them to understand both the limits and the benefits of urban gardening.
The request from the River City Chicken Collective was made in February 2010, and despite the long delay in decision-making, the city has far from forgotten the call from Edmontonians to allow individuals to play a greater role in their own food production.

Edmonton, like many cities, is encouraging this by increasing support for downtown farmers' markets, and cooperatives selling locally produced goods. It is encouraging a stronger bicycle culture, and with more progressive attitudes being elected to city council, there is a stronger push both inside city hall and out.

One of the most significant changes in the way the City of Edmonton and its bureaucracy could approach the issue is the newly developed municipal development plan, termed "The Way We Grow." Having passed its third council reading, the plan is meant to incorporate more progressive attitudes towards urban living, including urban agriculture.

"The plan's section on urban agriculture will provide a roadmap for moving forward on urban agriculture," explains Wilson, "potentially with a food policy group who will meet with stakeholders and advise council."

For many, it is not just raising chickens that are of concern. The very ability for urban dwellers to live sustainably off their own food production is indeed hindered by many of the current city's bylaws. This is aggravated by the conditions common to living in large urban centres. High rates of air pollution, consequences of smog and isolated spaces are major challenges, as is the lack of communal spaces available.

Change may be coming as strong voices and a civic push to more sustainable living and a more progressive attitude toward food security and urban farming. It may just be that in short time, Edmonton's backyards will have a plucky addition. V 

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