MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — In response to surging interest in urban agriculture, many cities across the country have developed policies that provide access to publicly owned land. These policies are often touted as a way to address environmental and food injustice and racial equity. However, if not carefully crafted, land access policies have the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities.

In a new JAFSCD article, “Digging in: Toward a more just urban garden land policy,” Hannah Ramer (corresponding author) and Kristen C. Nelson share findings from a comparative case study of urban garden polices adopted by the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (a semi-independent institution). With a vibrant and diverse urban agriculture movement, a reputation as a progressive bastion, and some of the most egregious racial inequalities in the country, Minneapolis is a particularly fitting place to dig into the messy details and muddy debates over justice in garden land policy. Beyond the particularities of urban agriculture and Minneapolis, the study offers concrete insights for scholars and practitioners working to develop more just policies and urban futures.

KEY FINDINGS

• Seemingly minor policy details systematically shaped who was able to benefit from garden land policies.
• Public participation, especially in the stage where the details were determined, played a key role in reducing barriers to racial equity.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH

To pursue more just urban agriculture land access policies, practitioners should pay careful attention to:

• Equity: Amount and geographical distribution of available land; complexity of the application process; fees and indirect costs; distribution of soil and air pollution; and the availability of other resources such as water, compost, soil testing, and raised beds.
• Participation: Multiple ways for gardeners to meaningfully shape policies (from goal setting through policy evaluation) and garden sites (from design through day-to-day maintenance).
• Recognition: A wide range of gardening practices, aesthetics, cultural meanings, and ways of relating to other-than-human species; avenues for redress and repair of historical and ongoing traumas including land dispossession, enslavement, forced migration, and labor exploitation.

–Hannah Ramer and Kristen C. Nelson
Univeristy of Minnesota
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development