Barriers in Community-Led Initiatives: A Case Study of Urban Agriculture Policy in Denver, Colorado

Building on Denver, Colorado’s long history of community-led food systems work, the local government has accelerated food-focused policies in the past decade. Such efforts culminated in Denver Food Vision, the first long-term plan about food. One idea championed in the plan was to dedicate 100 acres of land, an area equivalent in size to 25 city blocks, to food production by 2030. The initiative took shape in the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council’s (SFPC) City Food, City Land policy advisory. Despite the input received by the SFPC, one basic concept had been overlooked: there was simply not enough vacant land within Denver (much less appropriate for farming/gardening) to meet the hundred acres goal, city-owned or otherwise. While this policy was never adopted, there are important lessons to be learned about (i) the process of policy ideation to adoption and implementation, (ii) the intersection of land ownership and structural racism in institutions, (iii) equitable representation within decision-making, and (iv) effective government-community collaboration.