Hobby Farms and City Gardens: Back to the land with unused commercial space

Growing plants and animals can be fun, but it does take space.

Interestingly, in communities throughout the country, new space is emerging. Small stores are disappearing, to the chagrin of many, but space is appearing. The question is how people will use this space.

One possible outcome from the internet shopping revolution: urban areas in cities large and small could be used for small farming.

Since the 1980s, cities have reserved green spaces for city gardening with varied success. One urban garden in Washington D.C. called North Columbia Heights Green started in the early 2000s after the owners of a quarter-acre lot shut down their business and left it vacant. The city agreed to sell the lot to a non-profit group for one dollar, and today about 25 residents actively farm the plot, growing fresh produce for themselves and to sell at local farmers markets.

Some experts say this experience could well be replicated in towns and cities as people take advantage of properties once used for shopping.
Another use of land may be hobby farms, a past time once reserved for high-income people with time on their hands.

With a little space, nearly anyone can raise chickens for eggs and goats for milk. Or even keep honeybees. While the average small family farm has 231 acres, it takes little more than an acre to raise chickens and a goat.