Community Gardens at this University Essay -- Agriculture Community Ga

A Growing University: Community Gardens Humanity, when striving to create a more perfect world, may have difficulties in choosing a place to begin. However, in light of the direction much of humanity is quickly going, it seems obvious where to look. All over the world, urban populations are rapidly growing. Researchers predict that the time when 50% of the world’s population lives in cities is quickly approaching (â€Å"News and Highlights† 1). As urban populations increase, hunger becomes a growing concern. Thus, it is necessary to restructure the way food is produced in order to more efficiently feed the world’s growing population. The answer lies in urban agriculture. As a leading university in a growing city, serves as a primary example of urban sustainability. Thus, it is important that Kansas City join other major cities in embracing the practice of urban agriculture. In New York, Havana, and Tokyo, urban agriculture has been used as an economic, educational, and environmental resource through a variety of methods. Some serve solely as children’s educational centers, like the Collingwood Children’s Farm in Melbourne, Australia. Others are resources for those interested in testing out ideas related to sustainable agriculture, like The Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development in Sarasota, Florida (â€Å"Urban Agriculture† 1) In related research on community gardens in poor neighborhoods in New York City, results showed that â€Å"urban gardening is an effective tool for crime reduction, maintenance of cultural diversity, community empowerment, and promotion of civic participation.† (Saldivar 407) In light of this, I propose that university should have a community garden on campus, to be used for food produc... ... 2003. 21 10 2006 . Mougeot, Luc J.A.. "Urban Agriculture: Definition, presence, potentials and risks." Growing Cities Growing Food: A Reader on Urban Agriculture Theme 110 1999 1-30. 21 Oct. 2006 . "News and Highlights." Growing urban farms provide useful greens and earnings for poor, but reforms could boost supplies. 10 1996. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 30 Oct 2006 . Saldivar-Tanaka, Laura. "Culturing community development, neighborhood open space, and civic agriculture: The case of Latino community gardens in New York City." Agriculture and Human Values 21(2004): 399-412. 4 "Urban Agriculture." Wikipedia. 22 Oct 2006. Wikimedia. 2 Nov 2006 .