of severe water shortages in this desert region as well as ongoing weakness in the local economy. these immigrants were dry land organic farmers in their home country by default since they did not have access to pesticides and petroleum-based fertilizers. now, they found themselves on the border of two counties: los angeles county with a population of 10 million and almost no farmland, and san bernardino county which has the worst access to healthy food in the state. in both counties, there is a growing demand for locally grown organic produce. in response to these conditions, uncommon good, a community-based nonprofit organization that works with immigrant farmer families, convened a forum which became the urban farmers association. the urban farmers association is the first organization of its kind for poor immigrant farmers in the pomona valley. its goal is to develop opportunities for its members to support themselves and their families through urban agriculture. with uncommon good, it is a founding member of the pomona valley urban agriculture initiative (pvuai). the pvuai is working with local colleges and universities to expand upon a food assessment survey that was done in the city of pomona. oakland urban agriculture in west oakland has taken a radical form that can be traced back to community gardening initiatives starting in the 1970s in the cities of berkeley and oakland, and the city's african-american heritage. oakland's manufacturing industry attracted new residents during wwii. to reduce racial tension, the oakland housing authority established housing projects for blacks in west oakland and whites in east oakland. with exclusionary covenants and redlining by banks, development capital was kept out of west oakland while the african-american population had limited opportunities to rent or buy housing outside west oakland. the black panther party (bpp) played a role in seeding urban agricultural practices in west oakland. one of its social programs aimed to improve the access to healthy food for the city's black population by providing breakfast in local schools, churches, and community centers. a small amount of this food came from small local gardens planted by bpp members. according to prof. nathan mcclintock, "the panthers used gardening as a coping mechanism and a means of supplementing their diets, as well as a means to strengthen community members engaged in the struggle against oppression." the people of color greening network (pcgn) was created in the 1990s. the group planted in empty and vacant lots in west oakland. in addition, schools around alameda county began teaching basic gardening skills and food education. other groups have carried on those legacies, such as people's grocery and planting justice. in 1998, the city of oakland's mayor's office of sustainability proposed a sustainable community development initiative towards sustainable development. due to west oakland's lack of access to nutritious and healthy food, other organizations including the pcgn and city slicker farms demanded the plan include strategies for creating a sustainable impact on the local food system. city slicker farms was founded in 2001 in response to the lack of access to fresh produce in west oakland. through land donations from local residents, a network of urban farms was created through the community market farms program, and in 2005 the organization established the backyard garden program to aid west oakland residents in growing their own food at home. this program now grows upwards of 30,000 lbs. of food each year. in 2005, mayor jerry brown signed the un world environment day urban environmental accords, pledging oakland to become a more sustainable city by the year 2012. this gave rise to oakland city council resolutions, such as no. 76980 and no. 80332 which helped develop a food policy council. it has teamed up with the health of oakland's people & environment (hope) collaborative, which works to improve the health and wellness of oakland's residents. in 2009 the oakland food policy council started to plan urban agriculture in oakland. detroit since 2010, urban farming has rapidly expanded in the city of detroit. once home to nearly 2 million people, the city of detroit now has a population under 700,000. the population loss resulted in many vacant lots and properties. in an attempt to obtain healthier foods and beautify the neighborhood, residents began to repurpose the land and create urban farms. small community gardens grew into larger projects with numerous non-profits forming to address both the problems of food deserts and vacant properties. across american cities, some urban gardens and green initiatives have taken the form environmental gentrification. the garden and farming projects have been found to increase rent prices and attract wealthier residents, resulting in physical and cultural displacement, as well as demographic changes. however, detroit is unique as many of the urban agricultural initiatives are led by people of color, utilize empty land and are more accessible to neighboring residents. michigan's urban farming initiative (mufi) is a non-profit organization using urban agriculture as a way to promote education and social justice and empower urban communities. mufi is based out of the north end of detroit and has a roughly three acre campus. since 2011, mufi has transformed the space with help from over 10,000 volunteers and grown over 50,000 pounds of produce. currently, the organization is working to connect the mufi farm with the community through subsidized products for local residents and the construction of a three-story community center. keep growing detroit (kgd), founded in 2013, seeks to create a food sovereign, self-sustainable detroit with healthy communities and resilient local economies. the organization consists of numerous programs such as the garden resource program, which supports 1600 urban farms, and grown in detroit, which connects urban farmers with local markets and restaurants. the organization is also partnered with several youth groups and has a seven-week summer apprentice program focused on farming, business, finance and leadership skills. in 2019, kgd helped hundreds of new farmers secure land and educated them about the benefits of and keys to urban agriculture. hantz woodlands, also known as hantz farms, is an urban tree farm located on the east side of detroit. hantz woodlands is a project of the hantz group, headed by businessman and detroit-native john hantz. the project has cleared more than 2,000 vacant city-owned lots and has demolished blighted homes to make way for the hardwood tree farm. it is currently the largest urban tree farm in the us. so far, hantz woodlands has invested over 1 million dollars in the community and has planted 25,000 trees over 140 acres. the initiative has been credited with raising home values by 482% and beautifying the surrounding neighborhood. however, controversy and skepticism still surrounds the hantz farms project. critics argue years after acquiring acres of land from detroit, hantz could sell the property for development into high-end and commercial real-estate. this action would generate massive profits for the hantz group while hurting community cohesion and leaving no payoff for long-time residents. the greening of detroit is an urban forestry program and non-profit partner in the detroit partnership. as of november 2020, the organization has planted over 130,000 trees throughout detroit. in addition to planting trees in the detroit area, the greening of detroit engages in urban forestry education, job training, and other community programs. the organization is also involved in urban farming and currently oversees lafayette greens. the green space, located in downtown detroit, grows chemical-free fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers for the public to enjoy. more recently, the city of detroit has started investing in urban green initiatives. in 2019, mike duggan, the mayor of detroit, outlined plans to increase demolition of blighted properties in the city. one proposed way to revitalize detroit was through the creation of community gardens, green spaces, and urban orchards. detroit's largest upcoming project is the joe louis greenway (jlg), a 32-mile non-motorized loop which will stretch from the downtown detroit riverfront to highland park. the trail is estimated to cost $50 million raising concerns from residents who feel the money could be better spent addressing the blight and unemployment in the city. the leaders of the project argue the jlg will bring neighborhood stabilization and development resulting in affordable housing and jobs. scholars identify two potential trajectories for the project: green gentrification, where "open space will move into private hands, rather than being dedicated to community or public use", or green reparations where "projects would be undertaken with a specific intent of achieving social equity". detroit's public officials have the opportunity and power to steer jlg along either of the paths, only one of which benefits predominately minority communities and areas of historical disinvestment. illinois urban farming initiatives across the state of illinois, including chicago, have been spearheaded by advocacy groups. in addition, hb3418 allows municipalities and counties across the state, including chicago, to establish urban agriculture zones (uazs), supported by financial incentives such as reduced water rates, utility fees, and property tax abatements. furthermore, the usda has implemented the outreach and technical assistance for socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers program (the 2501 program) which was transferred from usda's national institute of food and agriculture. the primary purpose of the 2501 program is to enhance the coordination of outreach, technical assistance, and education efforts, to reach socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners and to improve their participation in the full range of usda programs. farm on odgen by chicago botanic garden zimbabwe harare is particularly suited for urban agriculture, as its topography heavily features vleis, land drainage systems that become waterlogged in the rainy season. when it rains they are difficult to cross, and in the dry season they shrink and crack, which causes structural damage to infrastructure, even though the vleis are still storing water underground. therefore, these moisture-rich areas are mostly left unbuilt, allowing for urban cultivation. aside from vleis and the private residential land that harareans cultivate, considerable public land is used for agriculture in harare: along public roads, railway lines, undeveloped plots, road verges, and the banks of ditches. the land is mostly used for maize, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, fruits, paprika, and flowers. this unsanctioned cultivation has a history of necessity: in colonial times, laborers wanted towns where they could cultivate crops like at their rural homes, and with very low income, needed to supplement their food supply. however, urban agriculture in harare causes harm to the environment. the practice has reduced rainwater infiltration into the soil by 28.5% and lowered tree species diversity. in addition, most informal urban farmers use harmful chemical fertilizers. urban agriculture has also been viewed negatively in harare because it impedes on housing and urban development. in the eyes of zimbabwean laws, agriculture was not an "urban" activity or a legitimate form of land use in cities. in 1983, the greater harare illegal cultivation committee was formed, though its efforts to curb urban agriculture wholly failed. in the 1990s, the failure of structural adjustment programs induced greater unemployment, higher prices, and lower incomes, so more people started growing their own food. between 1990 and 1994, harare's cultivation area increased by 92.6%. the boom in urban agriculture improved both the food security and the nutrition of its practitioners, as well as additional income from selling excess produce. the practice continued in the 2000s when a major recession brought about widespread poverty, unemployment, and enormous inflation. finally, the 2002 nyanga declaration on urban agriculture in zimbabwe explicitly acknowledged the value of urban agriculture for food security and the reduction of poverty. accepting that many people depend on it to survive, the government allocated sixty thousand hectares of land in harare for cultivation purposes. benefits the benefits that upa brings along to cities that implement this practice are numerous. the transformation of cities from only consumers of food to generators of agricultural products contributes to sustainability, improved health, and poverty alleviation. upa assists to close the open-loop system in urban areas characterized by the importation of food from rural zones and the exportation of waste to regions outside the city or town. wastewater and organic solid waste can be transformed into resources for growing agriculture products: the former can be used for irrigation, the latter as fertilizer. vacant urban areas can be used for agriculture production. other natural resources can be conserved. the use of wastewater for irrigation improves water management