In 1996 Sustain produced Growing Food in Cities, which drew on
some of the already considerable experience of urban agriculture
in the UK and recommended that more should be done to support
and promote it. This message was re-emphasised in 1999 with the
report, City Harvest, which examined food growing in London in
more depth. Both reports drew attention to the multiple benefits
of urban agriculture including: - the educational value of
growing food, for adults as well as children; - appreciation of
how food is produced as part of encouraging a healthy diet; -
improvements in physical and mental health, as a result of
regular outdoor activity, contact with nature, and the sense of
achievement; - the empowerment of disadvantaged communities with
useful skills, - and the importance of preserving green space in
urban areas both for its social and environmental benefits.
Since these reports were written, the urgent problems of global
warming have rapidly risen up the public and political agenda.
It is now widely