Urban agriculture is practiced at a substantial global scale, but its footprint and purpose vary widely. FAO reports that 55% of the world’s population resides in urban areas, while 800 million people worldwide were involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture in 1996. City inventories show how growing spaces support food production, education, community activity, and farmer training.
Contents
- Global participation and food-system scale
- Resource use and productivity
- Commercial crops, revenue, and market channels
- Philadelphia’s urban agriculture footprint
- New York City’s growing programs
- City inventories and training capacity
Global participation and food-system scale
FAO’s Urban and peri-urban agriculture summary places urban agriculture within the broader food system. Its figures describe participation and the relationship between cities and food demand, but the figures do not all share a single measurement year.
- FAO reported that 800 million people worldwide were involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture in 1996.
- FAO reported that 266 million urban households in developing countries were involved in crop production.
- FAO reported that 79% of all food produced is destined for consumption in cities.
- FAO reported that 55% of the world’s population resides in urban areas. This is an undated FAO summary figure accessed in 2026, not a dated population estimate for one year.
These figures should not be combined into a current estimate of urban farms or growers. The 800-million figure is explicitly tied to 1996, while the other figures come from an undated summary.
Resource use and productivity
A five-country study examined land, irrigation water, and compost use by urban farms and gardens. The data were collected in 2019–2020. The study is summarized by FAO and discussed in Food production and resource use of urban farms and gardens: a five-country study.
| Measure | Reported result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Irrigation water | 71.6 liters per kilogram of harvested food | Five-country study, 2019–2020 |
| Compost | 5.5 liters per kilogram of harvested food | Five-country study, 2019–2020 |
| Land | 0.53 square meters per kilogram of harvested food | Five-country study, 2019–2020 |
| Professionally managed yields | 5.4–7.1 kilograms per square meter | Review published 2020 |
The study found that urban agriculture produced significantly less food per unit area than typical rural vegetable farms in three of the five study regions. That comparison describes food output per area; it does not measure every purpose of an urban growing project, such as education, community use, or local access.
The resource averages also have a defined scope. An average of 71.6 liters of irrigation water per kilogram is not a universal requirement for every crop or method. Similarly, 0.53 square meters per kilogram is a study average, not a fixed land requirement.
Commercial crops, revenue, and market channels
The USDA’s The Promise of Urban Agriculture: National Study of Commercial Farming in Urban Areas examined 14 commercial urban-farm case studies. Selection required at least $10,000 in agricultural-product sales and at least three years of farm maturity. The selection was reported in 2019, so these were established commercial examples rather than a census of all urban growing projects.
Rising Pheasant Farm reported growing 10–15 field-based crops each year. Across the 14 farms, all participated in community or education events, while four earned revenue from community or education activities. At farms monetizing workshops, workshops contributed 3–14% of total earned revenue.
Other channels were reported as follows:
- Six of the 14 farms reported income from on-site events, tours, or land rental.
- For two of the 14 farms, that income represented at least 25% of earned revenue.
- Five farms earned money through off-site speaking events; this contributed 1–4% of total revenue at the farms reporting it.
- Seven farms earned revenue from off-site services such as landscaping, garden installation, or custom hire.
- Five of those seven farms considered off-site services critical and earned 8–28% of annual revenue from them.
- Two of the seven farms earning off-site-service revenue reported that it contributed 2% or less of total revenue.
The case studies indicate that commercial urban farming can combine crop sales with services, events, education, and speaking. Each percentage applies only to the farms that reported the relevant activity.
Philadelphia’s urban agriculture footprint
Philadelphia’s Urban Agriculture Plan reported approximately 450 known active agricultural spaces across more than 900 parcels in its 2020 inventory. The inventory covered approximately 130 acres.
| Site type | Number | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Individual gardens | 84 | 3 acres |
| Community gardens | 193 | 58 acres |
| School gardens | 38 | 5 acres |
| Community farms | 71 | 51 acres |
| Market farms | 10 | 2 acres |
| Social gardens | 29 | 5 acres |
| Stand-alone orchards | 10 | 1 acre |
| Institutional gardens | 12 | 6 acres |
Community gardens were the largest listed category by site count and area, with 193 gardens covering 58 acres. Community farms covered 51 acres across 71 sites. Market farms numbered 10 and covered 2 acres.
These figures are a 2020 inventory snapshot of known active spaces, not a current census or a forecast.
New York City’s growing programs
New York City’s Urban Growing and Gardening page, current as of 2025, reported more than 500 NYC GreenThumb member community gardens and approximately 20,000 volunteer gardeners.
The page also reported:
- NYCHA’s Garden and Greening program operated across the city’s 328 public-housing developments.
- The program supported more than 700 gardens and three urban farms.
- Grow to Learn had nearly 800 registered school gardens across New York City.
- NYC Farm to School had more than 140 registered schools serving 73,517 students.
The Food Forward NYC: 2-Year Progress Report, covering 2022–2023, reported that more than 380 community gardens on NYC Parks property had GreenThumb licenses extended for another full decade. It also stated that Farms at NYCHA had nine farms in operation after adding two new farms during the year.
The report included a target rather than a completed outcome: NYCHA planned to add six new urban-agriculture sites by June 2025. That forecast, stated in 2023, should not be presented as a verified final count.
City inventories and training capacity
City inventories use different years and definitions, but they show that urban agriculture includes gardens, farms, orchards, school programs, vacant-lot projects, and training.
Washington, D.C.’s Food System Assessment reported approximately 73 active community gardens covering more than 29 acres in 2017 and 18 urban farms in 2018. In 2018, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation operated 34 community gardens across all eight wards, while the National Park Service operated 10 community gardens.
D.C. schools with active gardens increased from 127 in school year 2015–16 to 134 in 2017–18. Of the 134 schools with active gardens in 2017–18, 67 were DCPS, 58 were public charter, and nine were private schools.
Baltimore’s planning-era Homegrown Baltimore: Grow Local estimated approximately 13 urban farms and 72 community gardens during 2011–2013. It also estimated approximately 70 youth gardens and farms plus two aquaponics or aquaculture projects. Most Baltimore urban community farms were 0.5 acre or smaller, while urban commercial farms generally ranged from 0.5 to 3 acres.
Baltimore’s initial urban-farming land-lease process received 10 applications and selected five organizations in 2011. By June 2013, two city-owned sites totaling 3 acres had been leased to qualified farmers. Its beginner farmer program accepted 10–15 farmers per year and awarded graduates a $2,000 mini-grant. These are planning-era figures, not current counts.
Seattle’s Urban Food Systems Program reported that, at its height, the program managed 14 community gardens, 16 public orchards, and two urban farms across 23 acres. The program history extends through 2024.
In Salt Lake City, Urban Agriculture Thrives as Utah Nonprofit Looks Ahead to Future Growth reported that Wasatch Community Gardens served more than 11,000 individuals annually through 18 community gardens and related programs in 2023. Green Phoenix Farm occupied 1.4 acres in downtown Salt Lake City, and nearly 60 women had graduated from its 10-month job-training program since it began in 2016.
Cleveland reported 56 vacant-lot pilot projects occupying about 15 acres, including 31 urban-agriculture projects, in a webinar-era report from approximately 2010. It also reported more than 230 existing community and market gardens in addition to the pilot projects. Birmingham’s GROW: Water, Trees, and Green Space metric targeted 16 active community gardens and six urban farms in 2025.
Because these sources cover different years and definitions, the figures are local indicators of program scale rather than a standardized ranking of cities.