Portland Oregon is working on revising zoning regulations regarding urban market farms. Early debate indicates that the protection of traditional approaches to real-estate value (ornamental residences, noise/traffic abatement, etc.) is the priority. Given the scale of the economic crisis that is already upon us, this approach is completely broken. They should be focused on building a simple platform for accelerating a local food economy.
Phi Beta Iota: Portland in particular, and the Pacific Northwest generally, keep popping up as bastions of ethical sanity. The combination of intelligence and integrity visible there is quite heartening.
