Scaling up urban agriculture in Tempe, Arizona

A participatory planning case for early urban food policy

Abstract

This paper documents an early-stage participatory planning process to scale up urban agriculture in Tempe, Arizona, an arid, land-constrained city that in four contiguous neighborhoods faces high rates of food insecurity and vulnerability. Using a Partic­ipatory Action Research (PAR) approach, a trans­disciplinary team of researchers, city staff, and community-based organizations collaborated with neighborhood residents to assess the state of urban agriculture, identify local priorities, and co-develop ten policy recommendations. The process included 86 food access surveys, mapping, practitioner inter­views in Tempe and with representatives from six other cities, and community workshops. Residents emphasized the need for urban agriculture spaces that support food production, education, work­force development, and community building. Key barriers included limited funding, volunteer insta­bility, and poor communication of existing resources. Despite water scarcity and land pres­sures, the study highlights how urban agriculture when water-smart and strategically located can serve as resilience infrastructure and address inter­secting civic, environmental, and social goals. The case contributes to growing evidence that participa­tory planning supported by trusted intermediaries can shape agendas before formal food policy struc­tures exist, and foster civic engagement, social con­nections, and institutional learning essential for food systems transformation. It serves as an exam­ple of pro-connection public engagement that addresses the loneliness epidemic, and proposes recommendations for transitioning from frag­mented grassroots efforts to a coordinated, equity-centered urban agriculture system in Tempe. The findings offer insights for other cities exploring participatory food planning in the absence of for­mal food policy structures.