After years of learning, listening, and crafting, the Growing from the Root team is excited to share a draft of Philadelphia’s first Urban Agriculture Strategic Plan.
Public feedback on the draft plan was collected from November 3 - 28, 2022 via an online survey, which is now closed.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the draft and offered comments.
A Spanish translation of the full plan will be provided when the plan is finalized.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 3rd and final public meeting for Growing from the Root, in which we released the draft plan and walked participants through what it contains.
Click HERE to view the slides from the meeting or view the video recording below.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Philadelphia's Urban Agriculture Plan: Growing from the Root aims to develop a comprehensive plan that uplifts Philadelphia's rich history of urban farming and gardening, and clearly defines the resources, policies, processes, and programs necessary to sustain it for future generations. Through the planning process, the City hopes to turn many years’ worth of feedback and work from residents, gardeners, and educators into actionable projects.
This work builds on a history of agricultural practices that are rooted in African American, immigrant, and refugee communities and have been nurtured across the City by residents for generations. In the words of the city’s many growers, urban agriculture heals communities and gives them a path to self-reliance and determination.
Philadelphia Parks and Recreation commissioned the plan in the fall of 2019 and hired Soil Generation , a Black and Brown led coalition of growers, and Interface Studio, a city planning firm, to co-develop the plan with input and inspiration from Philadelphia's urban agriculture community.
As a project of the City of Philadelphia with community values at the center, we are working to co-create a culturally competent and equity based approach to ensure residents most impacted are engaged and represented in the planning process. The project team will carry out the process according to the values of transparency, racial and economic justice, and inclusion.
planning for urban agriculture during COVID-19
Crisis is not new for many communities in our city that have been struggling with health issues and food insecurity. The current pandemic has only worsened that reality, shining a light on the underlying structural inequalities that disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities in this city.
Amongst these hardships, we are also seeing an increase in community members growing food and many more expressing interest in learning the tools and practices of agriculture. Our communities have long been growing as a means to become more self-reliant and resilient to the shocks to our global food system. The practices of community gardening and farming have been an integral part of survival and independence for communities for generations, and we hope to underscore the urgency to continue supporting that work.
Thanks to the 260+ people who came out to our first public meeting on December 3, 2019! If you missed the meeting, not to worry...
Click HERE to read the meeting summary and an overview of what we learned from the many people who contributed their time, thoughts, experience, and expertise.
Thank you, and we hear you!
Though the official window for public comment as part of Public Meeting #2 closed on June 1, 2021, but the Public Meeting #2 website remains live.
You are still welcome to explore the site and participate in the different stations.
update from the planning team
The planning process for Growing from the Root has been on pause. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we made the difficult decision to cancel the second public meeting, originally scheduled for March 2020.
We began to adapt the public meeting content to an interactive web-based format like the one you can now explore at the Online Portal to the Virtual “Public Meeting” #2, but come May 2020, the project team decided to halt project work in order to address issues within the team’s dynamics.
As a result, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation designed a five-month facilitation process to proactively address accountability, resolve interpersonal conflict, and reconcile harm through education and facilitated conversation between Interface and Soil Generation. Please see this WHYY article or this letter from the consultant team if you want to read more.
We, Soil Generation and Interface, have resumed work with racial justice centering each step in the process, and in April 2021, we launched the virtual "Public Meeting" #2. The interactive website contains 10 stations, each exploring a different topic. The stations ask for feedback on concepts and questions that will inform Growing from the Root’s recommendations.
The window for public comment officially closed on June 1, 2021, but the website remains live. You are still welcome to explore the website and participate in the different stations. You do not need to participate in every station or do them all in one sitting. You can visit the site multiple times, and you only need to sign-in once so we have a sense of who we are reaching and can target additional outreach strategically.
We know that Philly’s urban agriculture community has been eagerly awaiting this next step, and we look forward to sharing with you what we learned from your feedback through this online engagement opportunity.
We expect to deliver the final plan in Fall 2022. Between now and then, we will be sharing what we learn through this online engagement process and presenting draft recommendations for public review and comment.
Growing from the Root will continue to do what we can to ensure that the most marginalized voices are included in our community engagement, utilizing all the tools available to us and our existing relationships throughout Philadelphia.
Stay tuned for updates, and thank you for visiting the online version of "Public Meeting" #2.
Onward together,
Soil Generation, Interface Studio & Philadelphia Parks and Recreation
Land Acknowledgement
Urban agriculture is grounded in land, and this planning process seeks to contextualize the conversation about land by honoring and acknowledging the original stewards of what is currently known as Philadelphia.
Land Acknowledgement by Trinity Norwood of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation
The land upon which we garden, grow, and gather is part of the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape, called Lenapehoking. The Lenape people lived in harmony with one another upon this territory for thousands of years. During the colonial era and early federal period, many were removed west and north, but some also remain among the three continuing historical communities in this region, the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, the Ramapough-Lenape Tribal Nation, and the Powhatan-Renape Tribal Nation.
We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing relationship with their territory. In our acknowledgement of this continued presence of Lenape people in their homeland, we affirm the aspiration of the great Lenape Chief Tamanend that there be harmony between the Indigenous people of this land and the descendants of the immigrants to this land, as long as the rivers and the creeks flow and the sun and moon and stars shine. Wanìshi.
Get in touch
If you want to get in touch with the planning team, email GrowingFromTheRoot@gmail.com
If you want to get in touch Philadelphia Parks and Recreation email: farmphilly@phila.gov