Vacant lotActiveSince 2002

Rosario Urban Agriculture Program (Parques Huerta)

Rosario, Argentina · Operator: Municipalidad de Rosario (Programa de Agricultura Urbana)

Community Welfare Organic cycle Food education

Overview

Rosario's municipal urban agriculture program, launched in 2002 in response to the economic crisis. A 2004 ordinance institutionalized the 'Parque Huerta' (garden park), turning vacant land into public spaces for agroecological food production.

Citizen participation

Following the 2001 economic crisis, unemployed and low-income residents began cultivating municipal vacant lots and rail-side land using agroecology; more than 250 growers produce food and sell it directly at city markets.

Operating model

A public program in which the city provides land, training and technical support; growers earn income by selling produce directly at seven permanent spaces and itinerant markets.

Impact

Produces about 2,500 tons of vegetables and fruit a year and supports over 250 growers. In 2021 it won the WRI Ross Center 2020-2021 Prize for Cities and a USD 250,000 grant for inclusive climate resilience through urban agriculture.

Land tenure

License / permit

Vacant land is allocated to growers under municipal ordinance; parques huerta are designated as permanent public productive spaces.

Crops

vegetables
fruit
herbs
flowers

Scale

250,000 m² — Roughly 25 ha in urban agriculture plus a 50 ha green belt; 7 parques huerta and several community gardens; ~2,500 tons of produce/year

Sources（3）

This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.

Related cases

Vacant lot

2004

Cidades Sem Fome (Cities Without Hunger)

BRSão Paulo, Brazil

A Brazilian NGO founded in 2004 by Hans Dieter Temp, creating organic gardens on unused land in São Paulo's periphery to generate jobs, improve nutrition, and advance social inclusion.

Food educationWelfareCommunity+1

cidadessemfome.org+1

Vacant lot

2013

Keep Growing Detroit

USDetroit, United States

A Detroit non-profit supporting over 2,000 gardens, working toward a food-sovereign city where residents grow much of the produce they consume by activating vacant lots.

CommunityFood educationWelfare+1

visitdetroit.com+1

Vacant lot

2002

Growing Home

USChicago, United States

Growing Home runs USDA-certified organic urban farms on vacant Chicago lots and offers a 14-week paid job-training program to people with barriers to employment, using agriculture as a vehicle for personal and community renewal.

WelfareCommunityOrganic cycle+1

growinghomeinc.org+1

Vacant lot

2010

Andernach – The Edible City

DEアンダーナッハ / Andernach, Germany

A unique German city-led project that replaced ornamental flowerbeds with edible crops in public space, free for citizens to harvest. Spanning ~8,000 sqm in the city center plus 13 ha in the suburbs, it is internationally known as multifunctional productive green infrastructure delivering food supply, biodiversity, social cohesion and education at once.

CommunityFood educationWelfare+2

use.metropolis.org+2