My Work
I am currently focused on “Participatory Modeling for Community Agriculture,” which will employ participatory modeling to help match opportunities for urban farms in Buffalo, N.Y., with areas of greatest need.
The goal is to explore strategies for growing the city’s capacity for sustainable urban agriculture. Urban farms can serve as a buffer against the extreme conditions of poverty and environmental stress that presently plague Buffalo and other Rust Belt cities.
My Research
It is important to develop sustainable agriculture practices in the context of global change, with a focus on what is appropriate to concerns about local food resources.
Our goal is to develop a systems model that can examine alternative planting schemes which may support decisions being made by activists, officials and planners who seek to satisfy human needs in a sustainable manner.
We are beginning to work with the Massachusetts Avenue Project, an organization at the forefront of the local movement toward sustainable urban agriculture, and its Growing Green Program, a youth development and urban agriculture program designed to improve access to healthy food.