Urban Farming: Big City vs Small City

Urban farms are exploding in popularity across the United States. No matter what size your city is, you can bet someone is taking advantage of the space in a vacant lot or an empty rooftop to grow fresh produce. Chicago has become one of the most popular cities for urban gardening, and entrepreneurs are innovating in various growing methods in abandoned warehouses. In smaller cities, like Little Rock, the urban gardening trends are taking off in schoolyards and large lots in busy neighborhoods.

Sara Gasbarra, an urban farmer from Chicago, says growing in Chicago has its issues. “It’s hard to compare it to the other cities. It’s not as jam-packed as New York. There’s actually a decent amount of space here, and I see a lot of urban farms popping up indoors and in warehouses,” she said. “Space availability can be a challenge to source, but there is a lot available. Certain areas are a bit more compact and clustered but there are a lot of areas particularly on the South and West side that have lots of open land. That may be part of the reason why the urban farm movement in Chicago is very prevalent.”

Nathanael Wills is another farmer from Little Rock. As cars and city buses barrel down busy Woodrow Street, the tall tomato plants of his farm draw the attention of neighbours and commuters. In addition to his stalks of tomatoes, he’s growing eggplants, peppers, and flowers. “It takes me one minute to get to my farmers market. So, that’s a huge advantage,” he says.

His city farm, and limited space, also dictates what he plants: “I can’t grow sweet corn or melons or winter squash, because those are things you need a ton of space for. I’m still learning which crops are good to grow. He thinks his farm ultimately adds to the landscape of the community.

“You can’t just grow five or six blueberry bushes, you have to be all in. It doesn’t do me any good to grow 10 feet of flowers, you have to learn flowers and be into flowers,” he said. “And flowers are a great thing, and I think it helps the community when people drive and see the blooms. It looks good.”