Agriculture is an important strategy for mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis disproportionally affecting New Orleans. It encourages community wellness, biodiversity, soil health, and air quality. For these reasons, it is so important that the city of New Orleans begins to see agriculture and gardening not as an isolated activity but as a potential axis for creating a better city.

We propose a policy platform that changes growing food in our city from 'allowed' to encouraged.

Through Greener Policies

Our coalition is asking New Orleans City Council and New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) for the following:

a) Publishing the steps of the process with clear timelines and additional resources
b) Harmonizing the lease restrictions with what’s allowed under the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance
c) Allowing the lease payments to be subtracted from the sale price
d) Decision matrix for continuation of leases and application acceptance
e) Allowing the leases to be recorded legally
f) Allowing appraisal of property value as an agriculture use rather than the highest and best use
g) Clarifying the process for blight citations and violations
a) Having a clear and consistent way to speak to New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board (SWBNO) about agricultural meters
b) Training SWBNO staff on the process of putting in and billing for an agricultural water meter
c) Having public documentation for the process, including a step-by-step form for getting a dedicated meter
a) Relying on relationship with Urban Agriculture Liaison to help inform when a property is genuinely causing blight or when it looks different than city officials are used to (i.e., cover cropping)
b) Creating a more fair and transparent process for requiring the removal of blight from urban farms
a) Allowing access for one person to ask questions directly, create recommendations and attend meetings with city officials (such as blight hearings)
b) This person can be a point of contact for both growers or the city

Climate Change

1. Urban areas tend to be 1-7 degrees hotter than surrounding areas and research shows this effect is lessened by vegetation
2. A 10% increase in the amount of green space in cities can help to reduce surface temperatures in urban environments by up to 39 degrees.
3. Heat-related illnesses and deaths are expected to increase as a result of global heating, which will be particularly acute in urban spaces.
Air Quality

1. Annually, approximately 711,000 metric tons of air pollution is removed by urban trees in the United States.
2. Green roofs can be used to supplement the use of urban trees in air pollution control, especially in situations where land and public funds are not readily available.
3. Air quality can even be expressed in monetary terms! Pollution removal by urban trees across 55 U.S cities is worth $3.8 billion in public value.
Green Infrastructure

1. Urban green spaces contribute to a sense of place, improving community satisfaction, and acting as a facilitator in decreasing crime and violence when combined with economic and health justice.
2. Urban green spaces can be a tool in working towards a more equitable community when public, community centered and accessible to low-income residents.
Waste Management

1. According to the EPA, introducing composting reduces home garbage by .42 pounds per person per day.
2. Farmers and gardeners combined with landscaping and other uses, could absorb as much as 20% of the available food waste.
3. Increased organic matter in soil, created by waste streams being directed into composting and away from landfills increases a soil’s ability to store water available for plant use.
Stormwater Management

1. The clearing and planting of vegetated lots to retain stormwater can decrease runoff by an average of 30%, as exhibited in Philadelphia.
2. Research shows that biofilters can effectively be planted with vegetable crops to treat urban stormwater. While heavy metals can accumulate in vegetable crops, there are safe and strategic ways to grow fruiting plants in less clean soils.