FROM IDEA TO REALITY: THE EVOLUTION OF GREEN ATHENS

Urban agriculture has a number of advantages for communities, including:

• improving the quality of the urban environment through the introduction of green space and, thus, a reduction in pollution and global warming;

• supporting the reduction of energy use through local production of food, including savings in transportation costs and food storage. Purchasing produce from local farmers within a 100-mile (160-km) radius reduces automobile emissions and eliminates packaging waste;

• helping close the urban loop system characterized by importation of food from rural zones and exportation of waste to regions outside the city or town;

• incorporating use of wastewater for irrigation and organic solid waste for fertilizer;

• promoting alternative development options, such as cultivation of vacant urban land for agricultural production;

• incorporating a cross-sector approach to look at long-term, systemic solutions to problems in cities with the goal of improved health and wellness.