Chicago Farming?

City Hall Chicago

‘Urbs in Horto’ is a Latin phrase that translates to ‘City in a Garden’.  The phrase also happens to be the motto for Chicago.  Most people may not think of Chicago as a garden but during the summer it is an extremely green place with tree lined streets and flowers everywhere.  If one were to look a little closer you might see a few green roofs that are becoming popular for their environmental value.   And if you were to look even more closer you may notice city vegetable gardens growing for local produce markets such as City Farm.

Mayor Daley has long said that one of his goals is to make Chicago the greenest city in the world.  No doubt, Chicago has a very long way to go.  However, growing local produce and selling it locally is a great way to cut transportation costs and carbon emissions.

Causecast.org recently named Chicago as one of the ‘Five Best Cities for Urban Gardening’ due in part to City Farm and Green Youth Farm’s efforts at growing locally. One of City Farm’s recent projects, Green Boxes, provided an entire salad’s worth of crops all conveniently packed in a 2’x3’ box, suitable for porches, rooftops, and terraces all around the city.