ABSTRACT
Sitopia is a society shaped by food. What distinguishes sitopia is that it shapes itself consciously, using food as a tool. The first step toward sitopia is to understand the nature of this tool. Safe, reliable, and affordable supplies of food are essential for community prosperity as well as national security. Local food production is an excellent example of community greening as well as an import substitution strategy: keeping more money within a city or region, while using less energy to produce and distribute fresh, healthy food. In cities with large amounts of vacant land and low-income residents, such as Baltimore, Detroit, and New Orleans, urban farming could greatly help with greening the city and revitalizing neighborhoods. Urban food production is likely to meet only a small proportion of a community's total food needs. Still, local food production can improve environmental quality and social ties and encourage sustainable local economic development.
