Farms: Urban Farming in Chicago

Urban farming is a hot topic and a burgeoning movement. Unused spaces are being retilled for crops; retooled for integrated, vertical cultivation; and reapportioned as domains for chickens, goats, and bees. Is this a fad or a sustainable model that may end up redefining what we mean when we say "city"? Join Lee Bey (WBEZ architecture critic and former mayoral urban planning adviser), Naomi Davis (president and founder of Blacks in Green, a community development organization that prioritizes sustainability), John Edel (founder and executive director of The Plant), and Harry Rhodes (executive director of Growing Home, Chicago's first and only USDA-certified organic, high-production urban farm) as they discuss the lay of the land, including how the new model creates opportunities for struggling communities and the ways in which Chicago fits into broader conversations about locally sourced agriculture. This program was recorded on November 10, 2013 as part of the 24th annual Chicago Humanities Festival, Animal: What Makes Us Human: http://chf.to/2013Animal