it's a great idea and beautiful imagery, but does anyone ask whether people in these neighborhoods of Philadelphia want to be surrounded by acres of continuous farmland? have you seen indiana in winter? this seems to be a very top-down approach to city planning that doesn't treat the more tangible wishes of the community with much respect. and how does covering tons of land with a "non-permeable membrane" (aka plastic) sound like a good idea for any ecosystem?

It's a neat idea, but not at all revolutionary. The Germans have been doing this for years; Berlin is known for having agricultural land in unused urban spaces.

Yay! I don't care if it's been done before, it's a good start to making healthier change. I hope at least some of it can become tangible. Lots of opportunity.

What these women are doing is pretty cool but must you sully them by bringing up Kunstler? It's a real discredit to them that their only post on Treehugger has to be accompanied by a mention of this hated-filled, bitter and washed-up fool (Rolling Stone doesn't call too much after John Stossel eats your lunch on national TV, huh Jimmy?).

What would really be revolutionary is if they built those urban skyscraper hydroponic, organic farms I read about it PopSci.

Let's hear more about the sunflowers cleansing
the land of toxins. Are sunflowers more
effective at it ? What about clover, what
about alfalfa ? Are they effective, as well ?
Both enrich the land and alfalfa roots can go down
40' to reach water. Let's hear more on the
subject, please !

Having lived in Albania for three years, I find this imagery reminiscent of what is actuality there. Cows graze in the parks and on the grounds of the university.

In Slovenia, instead of front yards, we saw yards that were small farms for growing foods to be eaten then and to be saved for later.

We are so behind the curve of the rest of the world, but I fear that developing countries like Albania will feel the need to be like us and lose the rural/urban interface. Too bad!

Good morning.

WOW! I think we can do better that just paint some pretty pictures and feel good. Also, I don't really care what they do in Germany. This is the United States, the greatest country ever. We have farms and cities. It works really good that way.

We are not behind the curve of any one. We lead the way. We have more opportunity here than any place I've been. We invent, we find answers and we fix things. I feel good and am so greatful to live here.

This "urban farming" idea is the most impractical and stupidest thing I've seen in some time.

So come on, use your common sense, if you want to green up your city, just plant a beautiful tree.

Holly Cow.
Larry

I have been reading Michael Pollen's Omnivores Dilemma and this sounds like an interesting approach to creating some of the conditions he writes about. I do think it is shameful that our urban centres have decayed to the point where we can begin farming them.