Brownfields
Resources & Related Links
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Resources from the Federal Government
- EPA
- Brownfields and Urban Agriculture: Interim Guidelines for Safe Gardening Practices (24 pp, 1.9M)
- EPA Agriculture website
- Brownfields Revitalization – Urban Agriculture and Food Connection (PDF) (1 pg, 397K)
- Elder Accessible Gardening (PDF) (8 pp, 560K)
- Food Systems 101
- How Does Your Garden Grow? Brownfields Redevelopment and Local Agriculture (PDF) (4 pp, 1.3M)
- Spanish | Español: ¿Cómo Crece Tu Jardín? Redesarrollo de "Brownfields" y Agricultura Local (PDF) (4 pp, 1.2M)
- Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt: Vu?n c?a Quý V? Tang Tru?ng Nhu Th? Nào? (PDF) (4 pp, 1.2M)
- Industrial Properties Renewed Through Agriculture (PDF) (2 pp, 277K)
- Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) funding (PDF) (2 pp, 141K)
- Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook: EPA Region 5 worked with local Toledo partners to develop a planning toolkit based on a business plan created for the Fernwood Growing Center in Toledo, OH. The Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook provides a framework for any organization or community interested in developing an urban farm on cleaned brownfields or vacant sites to help address neighborhood blight, food access, or community development challenges. The handbook provides guidance on how to assemble marketing, operating, and financial strategies to communicate your urban farm project to potential partners and funders.
To guide your responses, questionnaires related to each section as well as financial spreadsheets are also included. For further information, please contact Chris Choi at (312) 353-5006.
- Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE)
- EcoTools: Urban Gardens & Potentially Contaminated Land
- Environmental Justice
- Food Waste Recycling
- Greenscapes
- Integrated Pest Management
- Smart Growth
- Urban Waters
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Resources from Other Sources
- Groundwork USA
- Information about other grant resources
- Information about soil and soil testing
- Urban Agriculture in Your Community
- University of Maryland's food gardening videos that explain basic gardening tasks.
- American Planning Association's Urban Agriculture food page and zoning practice and help with the development of zoning codes .
- Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture is an educational foundation that serves to empower communities with the knowledge and tools necessary to participate in urban agriculture.
- Michael Fields Agricultural Institute information on education, research, and advocate for urban agriculture.
- Rodale Institute is a non-profit organization that educates people on organic farming through research and outreach.
- Growing Power
- University of Maryland's food gardening videos
- Information about community gardens
- UC Davis' community garden start-up guide(PDF) (6 pp, 86K)
- Purdue University's information on community gardens
- American Community Gardening Association is a non-profit organization in the United States and Canada that works to support community food and gardening
- National Gardening Association is a non-profit organization that provides plant-based education, resources, and grants to individuals interested in home, school, or community gardens
- UC Davis' community garden start-up guide(PDF) (6 pp, 86K)
- Other Agricultural and Food Options
- Community Food Security Coalition aims to provide resources and information to farmers' markets across the country
- Farmers' Market Coalition aims to provide resources and information to farmers' markets across the country
- Seattle Tilth provides general information on having chickens in urban areas
- UC Berkley provides information and articles on urban bee gardens
- Urban Harvest is a charitable organization and this site provides information on growing fruit trees and plants in the city
- Community Food Security Coalition
- Other success stories/accommodating those with disabilities
- Lynchburg Grows is an urban farm and greenhouse that accommodates the elderly and individuals with disabilities
- Lynchburg Grows
- Urban Agriculture International
- Resource Centers on Urban Agriculture and Food Systems (RUAF) Foundation Home page explains the role that urban agriculture can play in a community and case studies.
- Thrive UK is a small national charity in the UK that provides opportunities to garden for individuals with disabilities. It serves to empower those who have mental illnesses and disabilities as well as help people who have suffered an accident or illness
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Resource Centers on Urban Agriculture and Food Systems (RUAF) Foundation