Taipei City Government

With Taipei’s proactive implementation of its Farm City policies, the city government is also looking abroad to draw foreign experience by inviting urban agriculture specialist Lee Kang-oh from Seoul to share his expertise on how to reinvent Taipei as a green capital.
Lee, having worked for Seoul Green Trust Foundation, is currently the president of Seoul Gran Park. He will be visiting a number of Taipei’s most iconic community gardens, school plant plots, and farmers markets, as well as exchanging opinions with city officials, NGOs, and local experts during his sojourn in the capital. He believes that farming is a key element in the pursuit of a sustainable city.
On December 6, the South Korean dignitary delivered a speech covering topics spanning ‘greenification’ and urban agriculture development of international cities at the 2015 Garden Landscaping and Green Rooftop Design Exhibition at Taipei Expo Park. A series of talks surrounding the topics of neighborhood greening, rooftop farms, and urban beekeeping have also been conducted, attracting local attendees.
Seoul began the implementation of urban agriculture policies in 2012. Its effort has borne fruit over the years, with agricultural land area increasing from 29 to 118 hectares between 2012 and 2014. The South Korean capital has set an ambitious goal to expand the farmland fivefold by 2018, to ensure that residents can access any of the available plots within a 10-minute walk.
Taipei, following a year-long promotion, has seen the public adopt a total of 19 plots. It also established 270 vegetable gardens at schools and on the rooftops of public buildings. Citizens are encouraged to learn how to cultivate crops in the urban environment while raising awareness for environmental sustainability.