FIGURE 14. Diagram of a Typical Garden with Multiple Parcels and Owners

The Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC) database identifies more than 400 active gardens and farms across more than 900 parcels, or pieces of land in Philadelphia.23 Sometimes a garden consists of just one parcel, while other gardens are made up of multiple parcels. In many cases, the parcels on which gardens are located are owned by multiple entities, public and private. Before they were gardens, these parcels were often vacant and disinvested over decades through deindustrialization, acts of landlord abandonment, and structural racism. Through the efforts of Philadelphia’s gardeners and farmers, this land now cultivates not just plants, but also soil quality, water quality, wildlife habitats, stormwater management, physical space, and community relationships.

FIGURE 14. Diagram of a Typical Garden with

Multiple Parcels and Owners

Source: Philadelphia Land Bank Strategic Plan

WHAT IS LAND SECURITY? WHAT IS LAND ACCESS?

Land Security

> A garden has land security when all of its parcels are owned by the gardeners or a trusted organization or entity that will protect the garden over time. > Fewer than half (44%) of gardens in the Philadelphia Garden

Data Collaborative database are secure, meaning that the whole garden is owned by the gardeners, farmers, or a supportive organization (e.g., Parks & Recreation, schools, or land trusts). > A garden lacks land security when one or more of its parcels are owned by an individual or entity that does not intend to preserve the garden over time.

Land Access

> Gardeners and farmers have land access when they have a legal ability to use land for agriculture, provided through a lease, license, other arrangement, or permanent ownership.

Racial and socio-economic barriers often prevent communities from being able to stay on the land they tend. Lacking land security, these growing spaces are at risk for eviction, demolition, and redevelopment. Stories from local gardens and farms, news articles, and research by members of the PGDC identify over 140 former gardens in Philadelphia that are no longer active, though the actual number may be much higher.

The land struggles experienced by Philadelphia gardeners and farmers are part of a much larger history of land-based oppression that stretches across the United States and throughout history. Data shows that historic and current US legislation has resulted in Native American tribes experiencing loss of over 90 million acres of land,24 and Black farmers have experienced land theft of 80 to 90 percent of the 16 million acres they owned in 1920.25 For more information about this history, see the historic timeline on page 30.

These land struggles are personal for growers, communities, and agricultural businesses, as the statistics from the survey at the second public meeting illustrate.

AMONG SURVEY RESPONDENTS

> 54% of respondents know

a garden that is currently

being threatened, and 46% know of a garden that was lost/stolen. The majority of reported lost gardens were

lost to development.

> 27% of respondents have personally experienced

race and ethnicity impacting their ability to

obtain access to land and land security.

> 25% of respondents reported that a lack of

land security is a major barrier to establishing

or expanding their agricultural businesses.

— Input from survey at second public meeting

HOW PHILADELPHIA APPROACHES LAND FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE

City policies recognize urban agriculture as a long-term land use. The majority of community gardens and farms in Philadelphia are located on public agency land (e.g., Eastwick Garden on Philadelphia International Airport property) or surplus, formerly vacant land owned by a public agency or absentee private owner. Among City agencies that host gardens on their property, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (Parks & Rec) has policies and programs designed to expand the footprint of urban agriculture in Philadelphia. Parks & Rec hosts 60 farming projects on public land and aims to support long-term leases and public benefits with all of its agriculture projects, gardens, and farms.

Other gardens are located on publicly owned land that the City considers vacant or surplus, and gardeners face significant barriers to establishing long-term land security on these lots. Roughly one-fifth (20%) of the estimated 40,000 plus vacant properties citywide are publicly owned.26 One of the Philadelphia Land Bank’s key functions is to sell, transfer, or lease surplus publicly owned property for use as gardens and community open space, including urban agriculture. In addition, the Land Bank’s Strategic Plan calls on the Land Bank to “take action to preserve active gardens” by proactively acquiring privately owned, tax delinquent “vacant” properties that host active gardens and preventing the sale of such properties to speculators or developers at Sheriff’s Sale.27 The Land Bank can clear the back-owed taxes and then transfer the properties to the individuals and organizations who tend the land in order to preserve gardens. However, throughout this planning process, growers mentioned consistent challenges to purchasing or leasing land from the City, including confusing or complicated processes, slow response times, a lack of information, and lack of follow-up.

To date, most urban agriculture-related land transactions through the Land Bank have granted one-year garden license agreements.28 However, one-year agreements do not provide adequate land security, according to growers who participated in public engagement for this plan. Growers expressed a desire for more options for long-term leasing and permanent land transfer, so they can plan for the future and grow without fear of losing their property. Long-term lease agreements (of a minimum of five to ten years) and permanent land transfers can provide growers with adequate land security when they are made to an individual or group tending the land or a long-term land owner committed to garden preservation, such as a land trust or nonprofit organization.