Our Urban Farm Master Plan contributes to the development of a community food system in National City. National City’s cultural heritage and diversity, combined with a number of under-utilized sites and open spaces, creates possibilities for the city to raise a significant percentage of its own food while simultaneously establishing connections between neighborhoods, providing new jobs and educational opportunities, and creating more efficient water use and improved natural habitats. Farming National City would put the city at the forefront of the nation-wide movement for making locally grown foods an integral part of local economies, community planning and everyday life.
The master plan focuses on the El Toyon / Rancho de la Nación / Ira Harbison neighborhoods. The diversity of open space and land uses within these communities allows for exploration of an array of typologies for urban food development. We identify sites and strategies that could help increase the availability of fresh, locally-grown and culturally appropriate food. This holds particular significance for a city that must attend to high levels of diabetes and childhood obesity, low levels of residents without automobiles (increasing dependence on locally available food), and per capita income which is among the lowest in San Diego County.
Location
National City, CA
Collaborators
Fred Besançon, ASLA, and David Allen Smith (graphics)
Client
Brad Raulston, City of National City