Pittsburgh Urban Chicken Coop Tour

I have written previously about "urban farming" (especially in Pittsburgh) - the trend in many large cities to encourage farming of abandoned or empty lots and even to incorporate such plans into the larger goal of urban consolidation.

In Pittsburgh last week, hundreds attended the "Pittsburgh second annual chicken coop tours."
This story is more significant than it might appear. The City of Pittsburgh and local residents have made a concerted effort for several years to devote more space to urban farming. This trend may grow as more properties become abandoned due to tighter lending restrictions on investors, title defects resulting from tax sales, municipal regulations and fees, and the collapsing real estate bubble in general. We may see a time when the most profitable use of certain urban space will be agricultural.

The following video is from the 2011 Pittsburgh Urban Chicken Coop Tour (courtesy of Transition Pittsburgh).