Urban farming is definitely one of the hottest trends at the moment. The urban agriculture scene seems to become mature. Although we see urban farms popping up on every corner of the street, we have always doubted the genuinity of all those small farming initiatives that are left behind after one season of fun. Nevertheless, some developments in this ongoing hype are interesting to discuss.
As urban farming is becoming a serious business in many cities around the world, it’s interesting to see how the city farming scene extends its influence from a ‘vacant-lots-only’ phenomenon to a ‘rest-of-the-city’ phenomenon. For example, in US, urban farming shops in the centers of big cities pop-up all over the States. These shops sell everything needed by the urban farmer, varying from seeds and soils to rainwater harvesting barrels, drip irrigation systems and even little roosters.
The urban farming supply stores point to an increasing professional attitude among the newest generation of urban farmers. They are not just farming, some projects combine the urban farm with restaurant and shop, where they can serve the city with local food right away.
Not only vacant lots are used to urban farm, but the farming trend also extends to office buildings and urban rooftops.
Also the rise of new and more complicated forms of produce point to the the professionalization of urban farming. 2012 was the year of the Aquaponics, a self-organizing system of growing vegetables and fish at the same time. In addition, urban farming has moved to the production of crops like mushrooms and even medicine. Urban farming is becoming serious business.
