Rural Smart Growth: The Role of Local Farms & Food in Advancing Livable Communities

2011 (Presenter Julia Freedgood, Managing Director, Farmlands & Communities Initiatives, American Farmland Trust) - Over the past 25 years, 41 million acres were converted to development, an area the size of Illinois and New Jersey combined. More than half of that area was working agricultural land. Over this period, the U.S. population grew 30%, but developed land use increased 57%. Our food supply is in the path of this development: 91% of our fruit production, 78% of our vegetables and more than half our dairy and poultry production. This presents both challenges and opportunities for smarter growth and building sustainable communities. This session will address rural development in a smart growth context, finding ways to sustain agriculture near cities, keep farmland in farming and create livable communities. This lecture was recorded at "Smart Growth," the Elizabeth Babbott Conant Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment at Connecticut College on March 4 and 5, 2011. https://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/majors-and-minors/goodwin-niering-center-for-the-environment/conferences/smart-growth/