INTRODUCTIONLike many cities around the world, Atlanta has recently ex-perienced a surge of interest and investment in urban ag-riculture (UA). Two clear consequences of this trend in-clude the passage of a zoning amendment in 2014, which made urban gardens an official land use, and the City’s hiring of a Director of Urban Agriculture last year. As more farms are permitted within the city boundaries, policy-mak-ers, planners and designers will need to consider both the positive and negative impacts of this new land use on the local environment and economy. This case study of At-lanta will offer insights into recent planning and design ef-forts to permanently embed UA in the fabric of the city.

Designing Sustainable Urban Food Systems: A case study of policy, planning and research efforts to promote urban agriculture in Atlanta, GA

Emma Mehlig French | emfrench@gatech.eduMaster of Science in Public Policy 17’Master of City and Regional Planning 17’

LEARNING OBJECTIVES1. Examine existing planning and policy initiatives and programs that are supporting the expansion of urban agriculture in Metro Atlanta.

2. Explore key player’s motivations for supporting the expansion of urban agriculture, as well as the designs that these motivations spur at various scales (farm-level design, local and regional system design).

3. Identify environmental design research being done in and around Atlanta, and determine how, if at all, research is informing practice and conversely, if practice is inform-ing research.

4. Explore the potential for Atlanta to develop a more cohesive and comprehensive urban food systems plan by leveraging existing collaborations and better integrating ongoing research into UA design and planning practices.

FARM LEVELBenefits- Access to fresh food- Access to affordable food- Access to pesticide-free food- Improved mental health- Improved physical health- Job skills training- Education- Intergenerational learning

Envrionmental Design Element- Production method/design

NEIGHBORHOOD LEVELBenefits- Access to fresh food- Access to affordable food- Community development- Neighborhood pride- Greenspace- Job creation- Reduction in crime- Social justice

Envrionmental Design Element- Location within a neighborhood

CITY LEVELBenefits- Economic developent- Stormwater management- Sustainability awareness- Heat Island mitigation- Food security

Envrionmental Design Element- Distribution throughout a city

REGIONAL LEVELBenefits- Nutrient recovery- Stormwater runoff- Local emissions reduction- Transparency of food system

Envrionmental Design Element- Distribution throughout a region

METHODOLOGYThe primary methodology for this study involved in-person and phone interviews with individuals who are involved in the urban agriculture scene in Atlanta. Interviewees were identified through online research of organizations as well as through the snowball method. A total of 21 individuals were interviewed for between 30 minutes to an hour and a half. The pie chart to the right depicts the breakdown of in-terviewees in terms of their sector and scope (local, state or regional). The purpose of the interviews was to gain a deeper understanding of the urban agriculture movement in Atlanta, including who is involved, what are their motives and in what ways are they collarboationing? The interview questions sought to capture each organization's mission as it relates to urban agriuclture, names of partner organi-zations, percieved benefits of urban agriculture, perceived barriers to the expansion of this industry in Atlanta, and the impact of urban agriculture on existing infrastructure sys-tems.

CONCLUSIONSThis reserach project confirms that there is a robust urban agriu-culture scene in Atlanta rea that is supported by a substantial num-ber of planning and policy initiatives operating at various scales (neighborhood, city and state) by public, private and nonprofit orga-nizations. The interview data shows that the most widely accepted perceived benefit of urban agriculture is increased access to fresh food, closely followed by community development, however many other benefits were identified by interviewees. Existing and ongo-ing research on urban agriculture in Atlanta focuses primarily on the scientific aspects of urban food production, including it's im-pact on the urban heat island effect and the high-yield production systems such as aquaponics. There are, however, new efforts to gather quantitative data on the economic impacts of urban farms and gardens. Future efforts are likely to focus on incorporating local food system planning into regional resource planning and policy.