Integrating Equity as a Central Theme in Urban Agriculture: The Case of the City of Seattle, Washington

Abstract

AbstractLocal food is not a new topic in Seattle and surrounding region. Nestled in an agriculturally rich region, Seattle has a long and robust history of backyard and community gardening. A strong network of grassroots and community-based organizations work on food system issues. Many of these organizations have been actively addressing issues such as community gardening, food production, and food security since the early 1970s, long before the city government began to take an interest in the Seattle food system. The Seattle city government established the P-Patch Community Gardening Program in 1973, and the Seattle-King County department of public health has been actively engaged in nutrition issues for decades. However, it was not until the early 2000s, that the city government began engaging in systems change. The Seattle city government supports a number of urban agriculture and food systems related issues through public planning, policy and funding decisions. This chapter explores the various geographic, social, agricultural and governmental contexts at play and provides a critical examination of the city government’s response to urban agriculture. The chapter describes the city government’s impetus for addressing urban agriculture through public policy and an overview of the various opportunities and challenges it has faced along the way in addressing larger societal issues such as racial and social justice through urban agriculture. The author uses a critical lens to examine key policies such as the urban agriculture zoning regulations and the Local Food Action Plan, and key projects, such as the Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands Project, to better understand the impacts of urban agriculture policies on social, health and racial equity in Seattle.