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Spatial Evaluation for Urban Agriculture Site Selection in Syracuse, NY By Bianca Dygert In partial fulfillment of: Master of Professional Studies Graduate Program in Environmental Science Environmental and Community Land Planning State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry December, 10, 2013

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Page 1: Master's presentation

Spatial Evaluation for Urban Agriculture

Site Selection in Syracuse, NY

By Bianca Dygert

In partial fulfillment of:Master of Professional StudiesGraduate Program in Environmental ScienceEnvironmental and Community Land Planning

State University of New YorkCollege of Environmental Science and Forestry

December, 10, 2013

Page 2: Master's presentation

Introduction Benefits, Syracuse, and Planning Process

Methodology Criteria selection, ArcGIS

Results Discussion Conclusion

Page 3: Master's presentation

Introduction – Community Garden Benefits

Strengthens local, sustainable food production

promotes education about the food system

reduces the “food miles” between production and consumption

enhances green space creates “green job”

opportunities makes fresh, nutritious food

available -

(McClintock, 2010)

Promotes local pride Promotes citizen participation

especially in poorer communities that may be lacking in other public amenities

alternative to corporate agriculture

-(Baker, 2005; Lawson, 2005).

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Introduction – Community Garden Benefits

Increased vegetable consumption, decreased sweets consumption

“Gardeners were more active than non-gardeners in community projects, and shared their vegetable wealth with family, friends, passers-by, and church food pantries, thereby becoming nutrition change agents in their own right”

-(Blair et al, 1991)

Means for improving safety in higher crime areas

Solutions for criminal activity in teens in inner-city schools

Increased awareness of self and community

Decreased involvement in gangs and crime in general

-(Fusco, 2001)

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Introduction - Syracuse Syracuse Grows

Mission:“Syracuse Grows is a grassroots coalition of individuals, gardens, and community collaborators working to cultivate a just foodscape in the City of Syracuse. We provide advocacy, programming, education, and resources to support food justice and community development through community gardening and urban agriculture.”

-(Syracusegrows.org)

341 Midland Avenue Community GardenEastside P.E.A.C.E. Community GardenExpeditionary Learning Middle School GardenHawley Green Vegetable GardenHighland Park Children's GardenIsabella Street Tapestry Community GardenKaribu Community GardenLipe Art Park Community GardenRahma Clinic Edible Forest Snack GardenStone Soup Community Education GardenFiltrexx Garden Soxx Community GardenSouthwest Community FarmWest Newell Street Community GardenWestcott Community Garden

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So why Syracuse? Still unclaimed vacant land with potential use for agriculture More gardens = more food Crime Fractured neighborhoods

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Planning Process –Urban planning through spatial analysis

Despite overwhelming support among researchers that community garden programs lead to a variety of quality of life improvements, standard site selection methodology for community gardens has been only incorporated in a limited manner

To do this it is first necessary to create an urban planning site selection data set from which to work in order to save resources.

Page 8: Master's presentation

Methodology

Goals stated in the City of Syracuse Sustainability Plan (suitability and availability)

Closely followed McClintock’s 2010 study “Cultivating the Commons” Developed a GIS suitability guide and inventory list Multi-criteria selection with overlay mapping

Page 9: Master's presentation

Methodology – City of Syracuse Sustainability Plan

Chapter 3 – Food Systems Goal 3.2.2.2 - identify an area to develop a

food center where food-related businesses can cluster

Goal 3.3.4.1 - to create an inventory of city land for urban agriculture (availability and suitability)

Food Deserts

Image credit: City of Syracuse Sustainability Plan,

pg 44

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Methodology - Criteria

Suitability – slope – 30% or less land cover – bare earth or grass/shrup

Availability – open space, vacant lots that are publicly owned by a government

organization, tax delinquent, and/or seizable by the city

Page 11: Master's presentation

Methodology - ArcGIS

ArcGIS 10.1 and 10.2 Simplified multi-criteria selection and overlay mapping

Collected shapefile data for boundaries, instrastructure, zoning, and land cover

Raster data for physical geography (DEM) Extent clipped to boundary of Syracuse

Page 12: Master's presentation

Methodology - Layers

Tax parcels Tax delinquent, seizable property by government DEM Slope extracted from DEM Existing community gardens Roads Boundaries Land cover

Data obtained from NYS GIS clearinghouse, CUGIR, USGS.gov and Jonnell Robinson (Syracuse University)

Page 13: Master's presentation

Methodology – Parcels Tax parcel data was

obtained from Jonnell Robinson (Syracuse University)

Tax-delinquent, seizable and vacant land was selected

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Methodology - Slope Digital Elevation Model raster

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Slope derived from DEM as a percent increase

Color scale: green = low, red = high

Methodology -Slope

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Classified into two classes: 30% or less OR greater than 30%

Methodology - Slope

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Methodology – Land Cover

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Selected Bare Earth or Grass/Shrub in selection query from land cover layer

Created layer from selection

Methodology – Land Cover selection

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Methodology - Overlay

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Results

Large area of vacant land in the west side Could be broken up into several gardens, or a larger-scale urban farm

Some smaller areas in the south-west side Potential for small scale, localized garden

Page 23: Master's presentation

Results

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Results

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Results

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Discussion

Utilizing remote-sensing tools such as ArcGIS can provide urban planners and community gardeners with an opportunity to conduct necessary preliminary research in a fairly inexpensive and timely manner.

Free data Free trial software – Student year trial and free 60-day downloadable

trial

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Discussion

Extensive background research was most time consuming, yet necessary

Proficient knowledge and use of software made data analysis more efficient and less time consuming

Delays in project due to outside factors

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Future Studies

Site visits Light availability Allocation of water resources Updated food desert map Soil testing Survey local residents for opinion

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Conclusion

Community garden benefits Neighborhoods take initiative in food production Save money on store-bought produce Healthier options Social benefits Increased physical activity Self-awareness Reduced criminal activity

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Conclusion

Organizations such as Syracuse Grows are able to help groups select plots, develop layouts, allocate funds and resources, and provide a community outreach for other gardens.

Spatial analysis allows groups like Syracuse Grows and the City of Syracuse by having data on hand

Inventory of vacant seizable land that fits the requirements for urban agriculture allows them to simply select and analyze a plot of land that has been pre-selected based on multi-criteria analysis

Page 31: Master's presentation

Conclusion

Community gardens in Syracuse are currently very successful Additional gardens would provide the west side and lower west side

of the city with more food options for lower income neighborhoods More gardens = more food Large amount of vacant plots

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Thank You!

I would like to thank: Dr. Stewart Diemont Dr. Margaret Bryant Dr. Jonnell Robinson Dr. Evan Weissman

Page 33: Master's presentation

BibliographyAllen Robinson, J. 2013. Syracuse University.Armstrong, D., 2000. A survey of community gardens in upstate New York: implications for health promotion and community development. Health & Place 6, 319–327.Baker, Lauren. E. 2004. Tending Cultural Landscapes and Food Citizenship in Toronto's Community Gardens. American Geographical Society, 94(3): p 305-325.Blair, D., Giesecke, C., Sherman, S., 1991. A dietary, social and economic evaluation of the Philadelphia urban gardening project. The Journal of Nutrition Education 23, 161–167. Bolund, Per; and Hunhammar, Sven. 1999. Ecosystem Services in Urban Areas. Ecological Economics 29(2): p 293-301.Chen, Y.; Yu, J. and Khan, S. 2010. Spatial sensitivity analysis of multi-criteria weights in GIS-based land suitability evaluation. Environmental Modelling & Software, 25(12) p 1582-1591.Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository (2013). CUGIR. Retrieved Feb 20 2013 from http://www.cugir.mannlib.cornell.eduFusco, D. 2001. Creating relevant science through urban planning and gardening. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 38 (8) pp. 860–877.New York State GIS Clearinghouse (2013) Retrieved Feb 20 2013 from http://www.gis.ny.gov.Grove, J. Morgan; Cadenasso, Mary L; Burch, William R.; Pickett, Steward T. A.; Schwarz, Kirsten; O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath; Wilson, Matthew; Troy, Austin; Boone, Christopher. 2006. Data and Methods Comparing Social Structure and Vegetation Structure in Urban Neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. Society & Natural Resources 19(2): p 117-136.Ikerd, John. 2011. Land Use Planning for Sustainable Food Systems. Journal of Agricultural, Food Systems, and Community Development. 2(1): p 3-6.Macias, Thomas. 2008. Working Toward a Just, Equitable, and Local Food System: The Social Impact of Community-Based Agriculture. Social Science Quarterly, 89(5), pp. 1086-1101.McClintock, Nathan and Cooper, Jenny. 2010 “Cultivating the Commons: An Assessment of the Potential for Urban Agriculture on Oakland's Public Land.” University of California, Berkeley. McEntee, Jesse; Agyeman, Julian. 2010. Towards the development of a GIS method for identifying rural food deserts: Geographic access in Vermont. Applied Geography, 30(1) p 165-176.Pudup M.B. 2008. It takes a garden: Cultivating citizen-subjects in organized garden projects Geoforum, 39 (3) : p. 1228-1240. Saldivar-Tanaka, Laura and. Krasny, Marianne E. 2004. Culturing community development, neighborhood open space, and civic agriculture: The case of Latino community gardens in New York City. Agriculture and Human Values, 21(4): p 399-412.United States Geological Survey (2013). USGS Maps, Imagery, and Publications. Retrieved Feb 20 2013 from http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodWalton, Bryan, and Bailey, Conner. 2005. Framing Wilderness: Populism and Cultural Heritage as Organizing Principles. Society & Natural Resources 18(2): p 119-134.Weissman, E. 2012. Syracuse University.Westphal, Lynne M. 2003. Urban Greening And Social Benefits: A Study Of Empowerment Outcomes. Journal of Arboriculture 29(3): p 137-147.Williams, Katie and Dair, Carol. 2006. A Framework of Sustainable Behaviours That Can Be Enabled Through The Design Of Neighbourhood-Scale Developments. Sustainable Development. 15(3): p 160-173.GIS Data Sources: Jonnell Allen Robinson (Syracuse Univeristy), NYS GIS Clearinghouse (gis.ny.gov), CUGIR (cugir.mannlib.cornell.edu), US Geographical Survey (USGS.gov)