Release Date: May 23, 2011 BUFFALO, N.Y. -- As Rust Belt cities
transform vacant lots into green space for growing vegetables,
University at Buffalo researchers are using modeling to help
assess the City of Buffalo's capacity for sustainable
agriculture. Specifically, UB geographer Sara Metcalf has
developed a conceptual model in the form of a "causal map" that
shows, visually, how different elements within Buffalo's urban
food movement relate to one another. The map shows feedback
involving land use, showing how vacant lots represent an
opportunity for urban agriculture, how urban agriculture can
increase familiarity with local food, and how that familiarity
can result in greater support for the cultivation of vacant lots
into urban farms. While these relationships express common
sense, the process of mapping them serves to inform dialogue
among farmers, policymakers and community advocates. Imagining a
single linkage within the food system is simple, but visualizing
a complex system is not. An article descr