On the Bleeding Edge of Farming the City: An Ethnographic Study of Small-scale Commercial Urban Farming in Vancouver

Urban Farm DB summary

An ethnographic study examining the emergence and early development of small-scale commercial urban farming in metropolitan Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, capturing growers' lived experience over a five-year period. Commercial urban farming is characterized as a grassroots entrepreneurial activity combining growing and direct marketing of fresh food in urban spaces for urban consumers, transforming underutilized and unproductive land zoned for residential, commercial, or institutional use into intensive food-producing space. Pioneers of this model reported benefits including high job satisfaction, increased health and wellness, and positive environmental contributions, while also facing challenges including lack of land tenure, low financial return, and difficulty earning a living solely from farming activities.