Growing Cities

In this informative and inspiring documentary about urban agriculture, filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette—buddies since elementary school—embark from Omaha on a road trip in order to talk with enthusiastic folks of varying ages and ethnicities with backyard produce gardens and intensely farmed small lots, which are proliferating all over the country. Growing Cities points out that the U.S. has 35 million acres of lawn—space that could be supporting crops more useful than grass. Adopting the “victory garden” approach that cemented communities during World Wars I and II, neighborhoods might once again be able to feed residents. While other documentaries have suggested that small-scale sustainable farming is only feasible if enough people could be enticed to return to the land, Susman and Monbouquette argue urban farmers need look no farther than their own backyards or local vacant lots to “grow where you are.” In Milwaukee, for example, entrepreneur Will Allen is famous for growing food for 10,000 on 100 acres using advanced techniques such as vertical gardening (he also trains about 1,000 new farmers every year). Along the way, viewers will see lush shots of fruits and vegetables thriving in gardens in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Detroit, New Orleans, and elsewhere. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)