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"  On a building near New York City&amp;#039;s Union Square Park, high above the statues of Gandhi and George Washington, bees shoot through the air and work across the surface of honeycomb, producing honey for urban beekeeper Andrew Cote where there would otherwise be a hot empty roof. Below, at his honey stand at the Union Square Greenmarket, I once asked Andrew where his beehives were. He pointed south and to the sky. New York City lifted its ban on beekeeping in March 2010. Now, beekeepers like Andrew can raise honeybees while other urban agriculturalists can raise crops and small livestock. Urban agriculture, the raising of food in cities, is on the rise in the U.S. and globally. According to the USDA&amp;#039;s count, 15% of the world&amp;#039;s food is now raised in urban areas. Why? It makes sense. Begin with a roof, backyard, or sunny windowsill\u2014empty space\u2014and end with tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil\u2014lunch. It&amp;#039;s a simple equation. Though the press often treats urban agriculture as new, as a modern enterprise soaring on the winds of the food movement, people have raised food in cities for a long time. The ancient Egyptians practiced urban agriculture, as did the Incas. (You&amp;#039;ve probably seen the crop-terraces of the mountaintop city Machu Picchu.) In U.S. cities, early 20th-century Italian immigrants were famous for their backyard vegetables, and Victory Gardens grew during both World Wars. Today, on a roof in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, tomato plants and kale course in rows toward Manhattan. The farm is called Brooklyn Grange.  Urban agriculture is getting attention for good reason. It has vast environmental benefits. There aren&amp;#039;t pests four stories up, so an urban farmer has little need for pesticides. All of those plants soak up millions of gallons of water that would otherwise go into the sewer. When an egg or salad green is coming from down the street, it doesn&amp;#039;t need to be shipped across the country. Urban agriculture creates jobs. At public gardens, it creates a sense of community; and at teaching gardens, an interest in healthy food among youth. It gives urbanites another source of fresh food. The USDA website agrees: &amp;quot;Urban agriculture promotes food security, improving each participant&amp;#039;s health and quality of life while creating dynamic, aesthetically pleasing cityscapes\u2026 Considering the international scope of urban agriculture and an increased desire to establish sustainable food systems for the future, we may all look forward to an improvement in the lives of urban and rural dwellers alike.&amp;quot; If you live in a city, you can get involved. The USDA has plenty of resources, but it doesn&amp;#039;t take much. Urban agriculture is raising tomatoes on the balcony, basil on the sill. There&amp;#039;s a chance you&amp;#039;re already involved if you live in a city, involved in the eating. Urban-grown mint now flavors chocolate, and eateries love to get produce from nearby farms and apiaries, even when nearby is up. If you&amp;#039;ve been urban farming or I&amp;#039;ve motivated you to try it, I&amp;#039;d love to hear about it. Be sure to send us pictures of your harvest. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a23664/discovering-urban-agriculture/>