It’s time to rethink what a farm can be.
Farms can be neighborhood focused. They can be hyperlocal. They can fit within your block.
It’s time to reconnect people to food.
Urban Farms Toolkit
North America
Key Services:
→ Economic Development Strategies
→ Development Scenario Planning
→ Zoning Strategy & Policy Alignment
→ Market Analysis
→ Urban Design & Concepts
Writing:
Partners:
What→
Urban Farming represents a strategic shift in land use: localized food production designed for the modern city. From indoor systems to adapted urban spaces, this model transforms underutilized real estate into productive assets that provide fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables while driving hyperlocal economic growth. American cities are currently sitting on a vast archipelago of dormant assets. By unlocking specific land types, local governments can drive a new model of adaptive infill that grows food locally, incubates small businesses, and recirculates capital within neighborhoods…
…if they zone for it.
Here’s the rub: a century ago, many American cities grew with and around farms: food systems were local, seasonal, and woven into the urban fabric as an important economic pursuit. Over time, however, zoning laws, industrial agriculture, and suburban expansion pushed farming to the periphery. We’ve regulated more distance between consumers and producers. Modern zoning has inherited a ‘Euclidean’ bias, misclassifying climate-controlled indoor farming as heavy industry that forces entrepreneurs into the ‘CUP Trap’, a discretionary conditional review process that adds 20-30% to startup costs and scares off private investment.
The Urban Farms Toolkit offers strategic zoning reform designed to empower municipalities to turn underutilized land into productive food hubs, converting liabilities into assets that ensure food prosperity, economic stability, and community health.
A rendering of the future Area 2 Farms in Fairfax, VA
→ “An urban farm is a neighborhood-scale agricultural hub that pairs growing, harvesting, and on-site sales to strengthen local food access and economic vitality.”
Move the Farm, Not the Food
Food was once produced near where people lived. To understand the current regulatory barriers facing Urban Farms, one must first confront the history of American land use planning. Since the landmark Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. Supreme Court decision in 1926, municipal zoning has been dominated by the philosophy of “Euclidean zoning.” This model is predicated on the separation of incompatible uses: heavy industry is segregated from residential neighborhoods to protect public health from smoke, noise, and toxins; commercial districts are buffered from manufacturing.
Agriculture, in this framework, was historically categorized as a rural land use. It was viewed as land-intensive, odor-producing, and chaotic - all qualities diametrically opposed to the ordered, dense nature of the city. Consequently, as cities expanded, agriculture was pushed to the periphery. Municipal codes were written to explicitly exclude “farming” from residential and commercial zones, often defining it by the presence of livestock, manure, and heavy machinery.
However, the codes have not kept up with the possibilities of modern indoor technology.
These operations produce no agricultural runoff, use less water than field farming, and can be hermetically sealed to contain odors. Yet, when an entrepreneur attempts to open a farm in a vacant warehouse or a hollowed-out downtown office building, they collide with zoning codes that have not been updated since the mid-20th century. Building officials, lacking a specific category for “indoor vertical farm,” often attempt to shoehorn the use into ill-fitting categories like “Warehousing,” “Nursery,” or “Light Industrial”.
This regulatory ambiguity forces the project into a discretionary review process, where the outcome depends entirely on the subjective interpretation of local boards rather than clear, objective standards.
